Florida not releasing COVID cases, deaths on Christmas. State test sites closed, too
For those looking for the latest COVID-19 numbers in Florida, don’t worry about hitting refresh.
In recognition of the Christmas holiday, the state’s COVID-19 dashboard and the COVID-19 daily reports will not be updating Friday. The reports will resume Saturday, according to Division of Emergency management spokesman Jason Mahon.
The last time the state took a break from posting the COVID-19 numbers report was on Thanksgiving Day.
The latest numbers posted Thursday showed 13,147 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the state’s known total to 1,247,546. Single-day case numbers above 13,000 had not been seen in the state since July 16, when cases were routinely above 10,000 a day.
The new resident deaths totaled 121 Thursday, bringing the resident death toll to 20,995.
Test sites closed, too
Testing, which has seen steady growth since the COVID-19 crisis began, will take a pause for the Christmas holiday as well.
All state-supported COVID-19 test sites in Florida, including at Hard Rock Stadium and Marlins Park, will be closed Christmas Day, according to the state’s Division of Emergency Management.
Some testing sites in Miami-Dade including Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Marlins Park in Miami and Amelia Earhart Park in Hialeah will also be closed on New Year’s Day.
Testing sites at the Bradenton Area Convention Center and the former Sarasota Kennel Club also are closed on Christmas and New Year’s Day.
In Broward County, some sites will also be closed on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, including the Annie L. Weaver Health Center in Pompano Beach, the Boulevard Heights Community Center walk-up site in Hollywood, C.B. Smith Park in Pembroke Pines, the Cleveland Clinic Florida Weston campus and Holiday Park/War Memorial in Fort Lauderdale.
Miami Herald staff writer Michelle Marchante and Bradenton Herald staff writer Ryan Ballogg contributed to this report