COVID-19 live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on December 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.
Gov. DeSantis said no more virtual meetings. Some South Florida cities are doing it anyway
4:05 p.m.: More than a half-dozen cities in South Florida have continued to hold government meetings entirely online as COVID-19 cases surge, even after Gov. Ron DeSantis let his executive order allowing virtual meetings expire Nov. 1 and suggested they were no longer permitted.
A handful of municipalities in Northeast Miami-Dade, including Aventura, Bal Harbour Village, Golden Beach, Indian Creek Village and Surfside, have issued emergency orders authorizing the continuation of virtual meetings. Several of those cities have seen officials and staff test positive for the virus in recent weeks.
Read the story here.
Florida adds 7,985 coronavirus cases — and nearly 100 deaths
2:45 p.m.: Florida’s Department of Health on Tuesday confirmed 7,985 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the state’s known total to 1,073,770. Also, 96 new resident deaths were announced, bringing the statewide resident toll to 19,378.
Two new non-resident deaths were also announced, bringing the non-resident toll to 249.
Read the report here.
Food and running shoes distributions
11:55 a.m.: Though not specifically citing COVID-19, it’s no doubt the pandemic has accelerated needs in the community. So several giveaways in South Florida merit mention.
Running shoes, personal hygiene essentials
First, to help some of South Florida’s homeless population during the holidays, longtime running friends Ibrahim Al-Rashid, Miami philanthropist and chairman of Limestone Asset Management, and Cobi Morales, co-founder of Miami running and walking shoe store iRun, team to offer “Holiday Steps for the Homeless.”
Al-Rashid and Morales are donating up to 200 pairs of running shoes to those in need in Miami and Fort Lauderdale from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 8.
The pair plan to visit various homeless populations in Miami’s and Fort Lauderdale’s urban core areas to deliver the shoes — while practicing safe social distancing, according to spokespeople at Durée & Company.
Brands include Asics, New Balance, Hoka, On and Brooks, along with care packages filled with personal hygiene essentials.
“The year 2020 has brought many unforeseen challenges. It is more important than ever to look out for the most vulnerable among us,” Al-Rashid said in a statement. “... I hope that our outreach reminds them that they are not forgotten. Cobi and I are humbled to continue this work during the holiday season.”
Grab-and-go meal bundles for Broward school kids
Broward County Public Schools Food and Nutrition Services plans to distribute free curbside grab-and-go meal bundles on Dec. 15 and Dec. 17, the week prior to the holiday break.
The traditional grab-and-go meal bundles are available to all children 18 years and younger, regardless of eligibility status, according to Durée & Company.
All children – whether they’re engaged in face-to-face learning, eLearning, and even if they don’t attend a Broward County Public School – “are encouraged to take advantage of the free meals.”
Meal bundles can be picked up from any BCPS elementary, middle or high school during the school’s designated distribution time. Select BCPS high schools will also offer curbside grab-and-go meal bundle pickups from 4–5 p.m. for families with children doing face-to-face learning.
The following high schools will offer an additional meal pick-up option from 4–5 p.m. on the above dates: Boyd H. Anderson, Blanche Ely, Coconut Creek, Cooper City, Coral Glades, Coral Springs, Cypress Bay, Deerfield Beach, Dillard, Everglades, Charles W. Flanagan, Fort Lauderdale, Hallandale Magnet, Hollywood Hills, Marjory Stoneman Douglas, McArthur, Miramar, Monarch, Northeast, Piper, Plantation, South Broward, South Plantation, Stranahan, Taravella, West Broward and Western.
Children or their parents can pick up multiple meals at a time by walking or driving through the car or bus loop to reduce the risk of COVID-19 exposure. If the child is not present, the USDA requires parents to provide identification for their child to pick up meals.
For information visit www.browardschools.com/food-service, call 211 or contact your nearest school for individual service times.
Canceled cruises. Here’s how you can get a refund or future trip credit
11:10 a.m.: Passengers who have had trips canceled or postponed during the coronavirus pandemic by their cruise line can typically request a refund or receive cruise credits for a future trip. The credits don’t last forever and some of the deadlines to use them or to request a refund are coming up.
Here’s what Florida-based Carnival Corporation, Royal Caribbean Group, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings & Disney Cruise Line say about COVID-19 cancellations refunds & future cruise credits.
Read the story here.
UK gives 1st COVID-19 vaccine to 90-year-old, then to Shakespeare
11 a.m.: A retired British shop clerk received the first shot in the country’s COVID-19 vaccination program Tuesday, the start of an unprecedented global immunization effort intended to offer a route out of a pandemic that has killed 1.5 million, The Associated Press reported.
Margaret Keenan, who turns 91 next week, got the shot at 6:31 a.m. on what public health officials have dubbed “V-Day.” She was first in line at University Hospital Coventry, one of several hospitals around the country that are handling the initial phase of the United Kingdom’s program. As luck would have it, the second injection went to a man named William Shakespeare, an 81-year-old who hails from Warwickshire, the county where the bard was born.
Read the story here
Police raid home of COVID data whistleblower
10:15 a.m.: The Florida Department of Law Enforcement on Monday raided the home of a former Department of Health data analyst who has been running an alternative web site to the state’s COVID dashboard, alleging that she may have broken into a state email system and sent an unauthorized message to employees.
But Rebekah Jones, who was was fired from her job in May as the geographic information system manager for DOH’s Division of Disease Control and Health Protection and who has since filed a whistleblower complaint against the state, denied having any role in the alleged intrusion into the state web site and instead said she believes Monday’s action was intended to silence her.
Read the story here.
Coral Gables Mayor Raúl Valdes-Fauli and Hollywood state rep test positive
10 a.m.: Coral Gables Mayor Raúl Valdes-Fauli, 77, has tested positive for COVID-19.
So has Hollywood Democrat Marie Woodson, just elected to the Florida House of Representatives from Broward County’s District 101.
Woodson announced Tuesday morning that she tested positive for COVID-19 after tests revealed her husband, Bob Woodson, and adult children, Bradley Woodson and Kelly Woodson, had the novel coronavirus.
“Consequently, we are quarantining at home,” read a statement from Woodson’s office.
Local blog Gables Insider reported earlier that the Gables mayor tested positive after receiving his weekly test on Saturday, and was asymptomatic at the time. He received the positive test results Sunday.
Valdes-Fauli and Woodson are the latest of Miami’s elected officials to have tested positive for the virus, including Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, former Miami-Dade County Mayor and U.S. Rep.-elect Carlos Gimenez and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez.
Some South Florida celebs also recently announced they had tested positive. Among them, Luther “Luke” Campbell, who thinks he may have gotten it at a strip club party where people were not wearing masks, and Gloria Estefan, who thinks she may have gotten it at a restaurant and has since tested negative twice.
Read the Gables story here.
This story was originally published December 8, 2020 at 11:30 AM.
