Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on October 6
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.
CBD business crashed, but Miami exec still got a PPP loan and bought $1M jet, lawsuit says
5 p.m.: A Miami businessman’s organic hemp company was approved for a federal Paycheck Protection Program loan valued between $150,000 and $350,000 months after the business had already shut it down, according to a lawsuit filed last Friday by investors in the company.
What’s more, the investors allege that the businessman, Patrick Horsman, purchased a private plane for more than $1 million after the business had crashed and burned — and after he had applied for the loan from the program, a signature part of the federal COVID-19 relief package, which was designed to help struggling small businesses keep employees on the payroll.
The loans are forgiven if used for payroll and other approved expenses. The program, which allowed banks to largely take borrowers at their word for much of the financial information they were required to submit, was seen by experts as particularly vulnerable to fraud.
Read the full story here.
Trump tweets that he’s ‘looking forward’ to the Miami debate as he battles COVID-19
4 p.m.: President Donald Trump said Tuesday morning that he’s “looking forward” to an Oct. 15 town hall debate in Miami with Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden despite being diagnosed with COVID-19 last week.
“I am looking forward to the debate on the evening of Thursday, October 15th in Miami. It will be great!” Trump tweeted.
At the time of his tweet, Trump was less than 24 hours removed from his discharge from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where he’d been treated as a patient since COVID-19 symptoms forced him to the hospital Friday for treatment. The president’s physician, Dr. Sean P. Conley, told reporters Monday that Trump was improving, but would continue to receive treatment at the White House and was not yet “out of the woods.”
Read the full story here.
Struggling to pay rent during the COVID crisis? Miami-Dade may have money for you
2:00 p.m.: Tenants and landlords across Miami-Dade can apply for county help from the CARES Act, with stipends available to cover rent payments that can’t be made because of the COVID-19 crisis.
Miami-Dade is accepting applications for the next two weeks for a second round of payments from its $15 million tenant program, which can cover up to three months’ worth of rent payments for tenants who meet income requirements. The application window closes on Friday, Oct. 16.
To qualify, a person must be a Miami-Dade resident, unable to pay full rent because of a COVID-related hardship, and make no more than 20% more than the county’s median income. For a single person, that sets the threshold at $76,800, and for a family with four people at home, the threshold is $109,680.
Florida adds 2,251 coronavirus cases as state positivity rate goes up to more than 5%
1:25 p.m.: Florida’s Department of Health on Tuesday confirmed 2,251 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the state’s known total to 720,125. Also, 55 resident deaths were announced, bringing the resident death toll to 14,767.
Four new non-resident deaths were also announced, bringing the non-resident toll to 178.
Florida’s positivity rate of new cases (people who tested positive for the first time) saw a slight uptick, going from 3.75% to 3.93%.
Click here for hospitalization data and a South Florida county case breakdown.
Are certain masks prohibited at Miami-Dade and Broward public schools?
12:30 p.m.: As South Florida students make their way back into school halls, parents will have to become familiar with the newest addition to student essentials: masks.
Masks are a core part of Miami-Dade and Broward counties plan to increase safety in schools. This means many new policies to remember and follow.
Students, teachers, staff and anyone who walks into the school office will be required to wear a mask or face covering to help protect others from COVID-19, regardless if you have symptoms.
Some masks work better than others. And some types of face coverings might not be allowed in schools.
Click here to learn more.
What new COVID-19 safety features does your Miami-Dade, Broward school bus have?
11 a.m.: After more than four months of their school door being locked, many students in Miami-Dade and Broward public schools will return to the classrooms this week. For many, their first attempt at the new normal will begin on the school bus.
Some of the school bus safety practices will remain the same. People should never walk behind a school bus. Children and teens should wait for the bus on the sidewalk, away from the curb and not walk to the bus until it comes to a complete stop and its doors open.
Once inside the bus, they should remain seated at all times and parents should always know the bus route number and bus stop location.
But, as a result of COVID-19, many rules have changed when it comes to the school bus. Masks, seating assignments, and reduced busloads are just some of the new mandates.
Click here to see what parents and students should expect when students hop onto a bus in Miami-Dade and in Broward Counties this week.
How do Miami schools look in the time of COVID-19?
10:30 a.m.: Redland Elementary students in pre-K, kindergarten and first grade got to see their friends on Monday morning after six months being away from school — but only at a distance.
Lines were extra long because of social distancing protocols, and sharing Animal Crackers at breakfast was a no-go.
Before COVID, the South Dade school’s cafeteria was a buzzing place filled with laughing children playing “rock, paper, scissors ” and fighting over the lone strawberry milk carton.
On Monday, that same room was silent, as children entered one by one after their hands were sanitized at the door.
“Yes, it’s weird. It’s extra quiet and kind of like a ghost town,” said Dayamay Gonzalez, a school administrator as she guided each child toward a blue “stand here” floor marking.
Read the full story here.
Thousands of students and teachers return to Miami classrooms during COVID
9:30 a.m.: More than 22,000 students across the nation’s fourth-largest school district have returned to classrooms for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic upended life in the spring, forcing teachers and pupils in Miami-Dade County Public Schools to teach and learn online from home.
Students in pre-K, kindergarten and first grade, as well as students with disabilities on a modified curriculum, were part of the first wave in the district’s staggered reopening plan. Another 40,000 students, including all elementary students plus sixth, ninth and 10th-graders, are expected to return Wednesday. By Friday, all students whose parents opted for in-person learning on a summer survey will be back in school.
The students donned colorful face masks. Typical first-day gifts for teachers were accompanied by hallmarks of the new COVID reality: disinfectant wipes. Parents kept social distance as they said goodbye to their little ones outside schools. Teachers and administrators outfitted in protective gear greeted families.
Families who opted to send their kids to the classroom said it was because of nonexistent or unreliable internet access at home, a desire for their kids to socialize with their peers, and the inability for working parents and caretakers to assume the role of teachers.
“The truth is, I am 77, and it is dangerous if he gets sick,” said Yvonne Brooker, who walked her grandson Makai to his first day of kindergarten at Carrie P. Meek K-8 school in Westview in Northwest Miami-Dade. “But, he has to be with other children.”
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 sees COVID cases drop below 2,000 again, and new deaths push toll near 15,000
▪ Here are the people in President Trump’s circle who have tested positive for COVID-19
▪ Two hand sanitizers recalled and 14 added to the FDA’s Do Not Use list in 16 days
This story was originally published October 6, 2020 at 9:58 AM.
