Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on July 31
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.
For elevator shove, Florida man claimed self-defense against COVID-19. He beat the charge
3:55 p.m.: Prosecutors have dropped the case against a South Beach man who claimed self-defense against COVID-19 when he pushed another resident out of a condo elevator.
The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office on Friday declined to file any formal charges against 72-year-old Nachem Gross, who’d been charged with aggravated battery against an elderly person for pushing 86-year-old Gerald Steiglitz at the Portofino Tower on June 22.
Read the story here.
Florida confirms 257 coronavirus deaths, hitting a record for the fourth day in a row
11:25 a.m.: Florida’s Department of Health on Friday confirmed 9,007 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the state’s known total to 470,386. There were also 257 Florida resident deaths announced, breaking a fatality record for the fourth straight day.
The statewide resident death toll is now at 6,843.
Read the story here.
Three weeks and $14 million later, Miami-Dade’s contact tracing still lags behind cases
8:45 a.m.: Three weeks after committing $14 million for the Department of Health to boost the number of contact tracers for COVID-19 in Miami-Dade, the state has added 50 disease investigators to 300 already working to trace new infections in Florida’s hardest hit county.
Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Giménez, who signed an agreement with the health department on July 9 to hire many more — a total of 250 — said the process of adding staff has been slow. Applicants are hired by Maximus, a Virginia-based company that is contracting with the health department, and must pass state background checks.
Read the story here.
How tax-free weekend for back-to-school supplies will look different in a pandemic
8:35 a.m.: Florida’s annual Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday is set to begin Aug. 7 and run through Aug. 9. Qualifying items are exempt from Florida’s sales tax during the promotion and includes a number of supplies, including notebook paper, clothes, computers. But COVID-19’s rampage on Florida will still be felt.
Read the story here.
COVID-19: Millions of job losses, poverty forecast for Latin America, Caribbean
8:30 a.m.: Economic growth across Latin America and the Caribbean is predicted to drop by more than 9 percent and 231 million people are expected to find themselves slip into poverty as unemployment spikes and companies go out of business because of the spreading coronavirus pandemic.
“We’re in the worse crisis in a century,” Alicia Bárcena, executive secretary of the United Nation’s Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, said.
Read the story here.
CATCH UP TO START THE DAY
8:25 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 testing at Florida-run drive-thru and walk-up sites suspended due to tropical storm
▪ Florida sees 253 coronavirus deaths, breaking a record for the third day in a row.
▪ In CARES Act fight, candidates for Miami-Dade mayor side with cities over Gimenez.
This story was originally published July 31, 2020 at 8:56 AM.
