Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on July 27
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.
Container holding corpses at Hialeah funeral home raises fear of coronavirus spread
6:30 p.m.: A refrigerated container being used to store bodies outside a funeral home in Hialeah has spurred concern that the deceased tested postive for COVID-19, prompting neighbors to stage a protest and demand that the city remove it.
“We went to the funeral home to ask about it and they told us that they were at capacity and that they had COVID-19 infected bodies that they were storing in that container,” said Liliana Vázquez Acosta, a neighbor of the funeral home located at 250 East Fourth Ave.
Hialeah Mayor Carlos Hernández acknowledged remains were being stored but told the Miami Herald that “the refrigerated container does not have bodies from people who died of COVID-19.” He also said that the funeral home has the required permits to place the container on the property “to be able to handle the emergency.”
Read the full story here.
Panthers’ top defenseman returns to practice. And NHL has good news on COVID testing
5:10 p.m.: For the first time since Tuesday, the Florida Panthers were back at full strength for their first practice in Toronto.
Aaron Ekblad, who missed the final three practices of the Panthers’ postseason training camp last week at the Florida Panthers IceDen, returned to the ice Monday in Canada.
Ekblad won’t play Wednesday in Florida’s scrimmage against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Scotiabank Arena, but Joel Quenneville said the defenseman will be ready to play Saturday when the Panthers begin the qualifying round of the expanded postseason against the New York Islanders in Ontario.
Read the full story here.
Miami-Dade County reminds residents with COVID to call ‘help line’ for temporary hotel rooms to isolate
4:20 p.m.: Have you tested positive for COVID-19? Are you scared that you may get others in your household sick?
Miami-Dade county is helping people find hotel rooms to isolate so they don’t expose other to the disease.
Throughout the pandemic, the county has been working to provide healthcare workers, first responders and homeless individuals in hotels. Earlier this month, the county added 400 rooms to help multi-generational families who live together.
For assistance please call 305-614-1716 or visit bddy.me/39yi0Lt for more information.
Vice President Pence visits Miami for launch of Phase 3 of COVID vaccine clinical trial
3 p.m.: With President Donald Trump’s poll numbers flagging in Florida as the state continues to struggle with one of the nation’s highest rates of new COVID-19 cases, Vice President Mike Pence visited the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine on Monday afternoon to focus attention on one of the pandemic’s few potential bright spots: the rapid development of a vaccine against the disease.
Pence touched down at Miami International Airport at about 12:30 p.m. on Monday. He walked off the plane with Dr. Stephen Hahn, commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Both wore masks, as is required in public in Miami-Dade County under an order from Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez, who greeted the vice president at the plane along with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. DeSantis and Gimenez wore masks.
Later, when the vice president arrived to the UHealth Don Soffer Medical Center in downtown Miami, Pence said there was “no better place” to visit than Miami to discuss Moderna’s Phase 3 vaccine clinical trial.
“It’s a historic day, a day when we begin in earnest to work on a vaccine,” he said.
A collaboration between the National Institutes of Health and the biotechnology company, Moderna, Inc., the vaccine is the first in the United States to enter Phase 3 of a clinical trial to determine the drug’s safety and effectiveness against COVID-19. UM’s Miller School plans to enroll 1,000 volunteers in South Florida as part of a 30,000-person study nationwide.
Read the full story here.
‘It’s inhumane.’ Crew members who return to work may have to forgo shore visits
2: 10 p.m.: For crew members who work 11-hour days aboard cruise ships without weekends, “shore leave” — a few hours each week spent on land — provides a necessary break from the stress of ship life.
When a list of new protocols from Geneva-based MSC Cruises titled “Life on board during COVID-19” began circulating on social media earlier this month, it included a ban on shore leave except for emergencies. Current and past crew members questioned whether the protocols were real.
Turns out, the list is real.
A spokesperson for MSC Cruises confirmed in an email that crew will not be allowed to get off the ships unless there’s an emergency during the company’s “initial phased restart.”
MSC Cruises is the world’s fourth largest cruise company, with U.S. headquarters in South Florida. Cruises are banned in the U.S. through at least Sept. 30. And like other major cruise lines, MSC is not paying non-working crew still stuck at sea.
Read the full story here.
11 Marlins players test positive for COVID-19. Home opener postponed. What happens now?
1:50 p.m.: Eleven Miami Marlins players have tested positive for COVID-19, resulting in the postponement of the team’s home opener against the Baltimore Orioles on Monday and delivering the first major test for MLB’s attempt to conduct a season during a worldwide pandemic.
Major League Baseball announced late Monday morning that the Marlins’ traveling party is “self-quarantining in place” in Philadelphia while waiting for the results of additional COVID-19 testing administered on Monday. Tuesday’s Marlins game against Baltimore -- the second of a two-game series -- also is expected to be canceled; the Orioles were scheduled to fly home from Miami on Monday evening after not playing a game in South Florida.
After a party, 17 anesthesiologist residents at UF hospital system diagnosed with COVID
1:10 p.m.: At least 17 anesthesiologist residents and a fellow at one of the premier university hospital systems in Florida contracted COVID-19 earlier this month after attending a private party together, according to hospital insiders and internal documents.
The outbreak at University of Florida Health occurred after a party at a private home, according to people familiar with the situation. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they said UF Health prohibits employees from speaking to reporters without authorization.
Read the full story here.
Florida adds 8,892 new coronavirus cases, lowest in weeks, as state total hits 432,000
1 p.m.: Florida’s Department of Health on Monday confirmed 8,892 additional cases of COVID-19, the lowest single-day total reported in weeks. The state’s known total is now at 432,747.
Monday’s total of newly confirmed cases is the lowest the state has seen since 7,347 cases were confirmed on July 7.
There were also 77 new Florida resident deaths announced on Monday, increasing the statewide resident death toll to 5,931. No new non-resident deaths were announced, keeping the non-resident death toll at 118.
Read the full story here.
Hand sanitizers sold at Walmart and Target are among 5 recalled for ‘toxic’ methanol
10:20 a.m.: The latest run of hand sanitizer recalls on methanol concerns has hit Walmart and Target among other retail outlets.
All five hand sanitizers recalled Friday were on the FDA’s list of hand sanitizers that tested as having methanol (wood alcohol) or were believed to be made in the same facility as one that tested as having methanol. The agency says methanol, if rubbed into the skin, can be toxic and shouldn’t be used for hand sanitizer.
Read the full story here.
CATCH UP TO START THE DAY
10:15 a.m.: Here are the coronavirus headlines to catch you up on what’s happening around South Florida and the state as Monday begins.
▪ ‘I feel left behind.’ How people with disabilities are coping with the pandemic
▪ ‘King of Guayaberas’ Calle Ocho store closes after nearly half century due to COVID-19
▪ Another 9,300 confirmed COVID cases as Florida passes N.Y. for second highest total in U.S.
▪ Her paintings tell the story of the brave nurses amid COVID-19
This story was originally published July 27, 2020 at 10:23 AM with the headline "Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on July 27."
