Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on September 8
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.
Trump says pandemic is ‘hopefully’ near end. What do experts say about a second wave?
6 p.m.: President Donald Trump suggested on Monday the United States is nearing the end of the pandemic, but some health experts have offered a more bleak prediction, saying they expect a second wave of the outbreak soon.
The president made the comments during a news briefing outside the White House in which he discussed the economy, the election and the country’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
“This is as we’re hopefully rounding the final turn in the pandemic,” he said while talking about the stock market and economic recovery.
Health experts, however, have long said there will likely be a “second wave” of coronavirus infections during the fall and winter months in the United States.
And as summer comes to an end, some warn it’s time to start bracing for it.
Read the full story here.
Miami-Dade Transit riders can report lost items online
4:30 p.m.: While Miami-Dade Transit’s lost and found offices are closed because of the pandemic, riders can report missing items through the department’s online system.
The quick form can be used for reporting items lost in the Metrorail, Metromover or a Metrobus.
Once the form is submitted, a person will receive a confirmation with a case number once you submit the form.
Riders can also call the office from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday though Friday at 786-469-5564.
Republicans are knocking on voters’ doors. Democrats aren’t. Will it affect the 2020 outcome?
3 p.m.: Democrats think it’s dangerous and unnecessary. Republicans consider it safe and essential.
And both agree that, when it comes to in-person voter communication, neither side has ever experienced a dynamic like the one in this election.
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has created a stark divide in the way the ideological left and right have chosen to campaign this year, with liberals all but abandoning the traditional political tactic of sending staffers and volunteers door-to-door to talk with voters at home — commonly known as canvassing — while conservatives continue to do so with only relatively minor interruptions.
The split is emblematic of a wider divide between the two parties during the pandemic that has affected how they regard everything from mask mandates to travel restrictions. And in the view of veteran political operatives, it has also created a unique set of circumstances for the final eight-week stretch of the 2020 election that could have a bearing on the eventual outcome on races up and down the ballot, in which Republicans engage in a tried-and-true method to persuade and turn out voters, while Democrats put their time and energy into alternative, safer efforts.
Read the full story here.
Lower trend continues as Florida reports 1,823 COVID-19 cases. Death toll hits 11,900
2 p.m.: Florida’s Department of Health on Tuesday confirmed 1,823 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the state’s known total to 650,092. There were also 44 Florida resident deaths announced, bringing the resident death toll to 11,915.
Tuesday’s single-day case count is less than Monday’s 1,838 confirmed cases and is the second day this week that the state reports less than 2,000 cases. Cases in the 1,000’s haven’t been seen since June, with the exception of August 31 when 1,885 cases were counted.
There were no new non-resident deaths leaving the non-resident toll at 152.
Learn more here.
Cheap flights attracted Labor Day tourists to Miami Beach
9:30 a.m.: The streets of South Beach were mostly quiet on an overcast Labor Day, capping off the holiday weekend and the unofficial end to summer on an eerie note.
One month since a COVID-19 wave that swamped Miami-Dade County hospitals started to recede, the level of virus activity has crept back down to where it was before the July spike.
Public officials and health experts, who attributed Miami’s blistering COVID summer in part due to chains of transmission ignited by gatherings around Memorial Day and June graduations, approached this holiday weekend with heightened concern and an emphasis on enforcement — beaches were open, but 10 p.m. curfews and masks were mandatory.
The curfew, mandated by county officials and enforced by local police, was not advertised to tourists flying into South Florida from across the country.
Read the full story here.
CATCH UP TO START THE DAY
9:30 a.m.: Here are the coronavirus headlines to catch you up on what’s happening around South Florida and the state as Tuesday begins.
▪ Florida reports 1,838 new COVID-19 cases — the fewest in almost three months
▪ This hand sanitizer’s label says it’s ‘edible alcohol.’ That’s why it’s been recalled
▪ Another BSO employee dies from coronavirus, deputies say. She was ‘well loved’
▪ How the Homeless Trust created a strategy to help stop COVID from spreading among Miami’s homeless
This story was originally published September 8, 2020 at 9:27 AM with the headline "Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on September 8."
