Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on August 22
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.
Venezuelan Embassy hosts food drive in Doral
4:10 p.m.: Volunteers helped out during a food drive sponsored by the Venezuelan Embassy in the U.S in partnership with Feeding South Florida and the Venezuelan Diaspora. The groups provided groceries to about 300 families in Doral Saturday afternoon.
Total COVID-19 cases in Florida near 600,000 as state adds 4,311 new cases, 106 deaths
12:35 p.m.: Saturday brought some further dips in COVID-19 cases across South Florida’s four counties — and statewide.
Florida’s Department of Health announced 4,311 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 — a drop of 373 compared to Friday’s 4,684 — bringing the state’s known total to 597,597.
Florida’s Department of Health on Friday announced 106 COVID-related resident deaths statewide — fewer than the 119 reported Friday — to bring the state’s resident death toll to 10,168.
Statewide new positives dipped below 5%.
Read the story here.
Community mourns Broward school athletic director who died of COVID-19
10:40 a.m.: Jason Stein, the athletic director at J.P. Taravella High School who was widely seen as a father figure and mentor to many at the school, died at age 46 on Thursday due to complications from COVID-19.
Early Thursday afternoon, Taravella High Principal Mary DeArmas tweeted about Stein’s passing due to complications from the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. She also held a virtual “Zoom” conference call Thursday night for those who wanted to pray and mourn Stein’s death together.
Read the story here.
Miami-Dade preparing to lift some COVID rules again. Is another spike a given?
9:30 a.m.: Last week, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez was on a conference call with health experts and local government administrators about pressure the county is feeling to ease COVID restrictions as the infection rate continues to decline.
A familiar, gravelly voice on the other end of the line had a piece of advice.
“Stay the course,” Dr. Anthony Fauci said on the call, according to three participants in the weekly discussion White House health officials hold to monitor COVID progress in Miami-Dade and other hot spots across the country.
On Friday, the county mayor laid out a course that landed somewhere in the middle of an immediate end to business restrictions and extending the current rules indefinitely.
He said he planned to begin meeting with restaurant owners and casino executives next week to plan for lifting some restrictions on those businesses if COVID statistics continue to improve at testing sites and in hospital intensive care units. He also hinted at an end to a ban on spectators at Hard Rock Stadium, telling reporters to expect an announcement next week on the NFL facility.
Read the story here.
Four UM students test positive for COVID-19, others showing symptoms, university says
9:15 a.m.: The University of Miami announced Friday that four students from one dorm had tested positive for COVID-19 and another 51 would be quarantined “out of an abundance of caution,’’ UM officials said.
The announcement came four days after classes had begun for the fall semester, and comes amid a growing number of universities pivoting suddenly to remote courses as clusters of cases have broken out from students partying and not practicing social distancing. UM is straddling both in-person classes and remote courses.
Read the story here.
CATCH UP TO START THE DAY
9:15 a.m.: Here are the coronavirus headlines to catch you up on what’s happening around South Florida and the state as Saturday begins.
▪ Broward allows restaurants to stay open later, announces new rapid COVID testing site.
▪ Miami-Dade tops 150,000 coronavirus cases as Florida total grows by 4,684.
▪ Hand sanitizer distributed out of Kendall recalled for ethanol, ‘toxic’ methanol content.
This story was originally published August 22, 2020 at 9:39 AM.
