Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on July 24
We’re keeping track of the latest news regarding the coronavirus in South Florida and around the state. Check back for updates throughout the day.
23 Florida counties are nursing home ‘hot spots.’ Feds sending testing aid to 85 homes
4:15 p.m.: COVID-19 cases are rising so dangerously fast at nursing homes in 23 “hot spot” counties of Florida that federal regulators on Friday said they are deploying 85 rapid testing machines to immediately test staff in an effort to staunch the spread of the virus.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released its list of 62 counties throughout the nation that it considers “hot spots” and more than a third were in Florida. According to the CMS data site, a county is considered a hot spot if, in the last week, it either reported three or more new cases of COVID-19 in a nursing home, demonstrated inadequate access to testing, had at least one new resident death due to COVID-19 or had at least one new confirmed or suspected COVID-19 case among staff.
Read the full story here.
Pence to promote ‘incredible progress’ on a coronavirus vaccine at University of Miami
2:05 p.m.: Vice President Mike Pence is headed to Miami Monday to promote the Trump administration’s progress on efforts to bring a coronavirus vaccine to market.
Pence’s office announced Thursday that he is scheduled to visit the University of Miami next week “to mark the beginning of Phase III trials for a coronavirus vaccine.”
The university announced this month that it was looking for volunteers to participate in a study led by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases COVID-19 Prevention Network in which 1,000 people will be injected with a potential vaccine by Moderna.
Read the full story here.
Florida’s top Republicans are mixed on sending their kids and grandkids to school
1:30 p.m.: With Florida’s schools emerging as the latest battleground in the fight over coronavirus public health measures, the state’s three top Republicans aren’t entirely in agreement about what they think is the safest way to go to school when it comes to their own family members, the Miami Herald’s Washington correspondent Alex Daugherty reports.
Gov. Ron DeSantis said his children, who are too young to attend school, would be going in person if they were old enough.
Sen. Rick Scott said his grandchildren will not attend school in person.
And Sen. Marco Rubio did not say if his children would attend classes in person when asked by the Miami Herald, but said he wants to see Miami’s community spread decrease in the coming weeks before students return.
Read the full story here.
Florida coronavirus cases climb past 402,000, as 12,444 new cases are confirmed
11 a.m.: Florida’s Department of Health on Friday confirmed 12,444 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the state’s known total to 402,312. There were also 135 new Florida resident deaths announced, increasing the statewide resident death toll to 5,653.
Read the full story here.
Restaurants can reopen when COVID retreats, but don’t plan to stay late, mayor says
8:35 a.m.: Thousands of restaurants forced to close their dining rooms earlier this month will have to wait until the coronavirus completes a steep retreat from the current infection levels to reopen, Miami-Dade’s mayor said Thursday.
Two weeks after restricting restaurant service to takeout and outdoor tables, Mayor Carlos Gimenez laid out the rough outlines of when that emergency order may be lifted and what rules would remain in place. His main measure will be the portion of COVID-19 tests in the general population that come back positive for the disease — a metric known as the “positivity” rate.
It’s at 20% now, according to the latest state figures. Gimenez said he won’t lift the indoor-dining ban until that rate falls to “between 5 and 10%.” Even when restaurants can open dining rooms again, hours will remain short by an existing decree that orders residents to remain home between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Read the full story here.
Miami to offer financial help for struggling homeowners, renters in COVID-19 economy
8:15 a.m.: Miami commissioners on Thursday approved $1.6 million in aid for city residents struggling to pay their mortgage or rent in an economy ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The bulk of the money, $1.3 million, will go toward a mortgage assistance program to help low- and moderate-income homeowners who have either lost their jobs or suffered pay cuts. Of that total, $131,000 will fund the administration of the program and $1.1 million will be distributed to people in grants of up to $6,000. The mortgage assistance money is flowing from the federal CARES Act through the state-run Florida Housing Finance Corporation.
Read the full story here.
CATCH UP TO START THE DAY
8:10 a.m.: Here are the coronavirus headlines to catch you up on what’s happening around South Florida and the state as Friday begins.
▪ COVID is leaking into Florida nursing homes as regulators allow exceptions.
▪ Florida voters losing faith in DeSantis as coronavirus outbreak worsens, new poll finds.
▪ No one is safe from Miami-Dade’s new $100 no-mask fine. Not even people wearing masks
This story was originally published July 24, 2020 at 9:25 AM with the headline "Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on July 24."
