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Beach Closures Leave Some South Florida Locals and Visitors Frustrated, And Others Happy

On Friday morning, Vonshay Crenshaw sat on a cooler under the shade of a coconut palm. He knew the beaches were closed, but hoped to have a picnic with friends on the grass in front of the beach until those hopes were dashed.

A Day in the Life of a Florida Nurse During Coronavirus

Coronavirus Live Updates: Statewide Coronavirus Cases Surpass 178,000

Resources

Coping With The Coronavirus: Resources For South Florida

Getting through the coronavirus pandemic is a challenge on almost every level. We hope these links can help you find the information or help you're looking for. If you have suggestions for information we should include here, email us at talktous@wlrnnews.org.

VIDEO: Frederick Douglass' Descendants Deliver His 'Fourth Of July' Speech

By editor • 1 hour ago

NPR / YouTube

The U.S. celebrates this Independence Day amid nationwide protests and calls for systemic reforms.

Florida Ag. Commissioner Nikki Fried Calls for 'Common Sense' Statewide Mask Mandate

By Chris Remington • 1 hour ago

Florida’s Agricultural Commissioner Nikki Fried has made multple calls for Gov. Ron DeSantis to implement a statewide mask mandate.

The state’s coronavirus case totals have increased by the thousands every day over the past two weeks, approaching 180,000 statewide cases on Friday afternoon.

Beach Closures Leave Some South Florida Locals and Visitors Frustrated, And Others Happy

By Daniel Rivero • 1 hour ago

Major League Baseball Cancels 2020 All-Star Game Because Of Coronavirus

By Jason Slotkin • 2 hours ago

Major League Baseball is cancelling the 2020 All-Star game over concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic and restricting on mass gatherings, the league says.

Four More Miami-Dade Residents Have West Nile Virus, Bringing Total To 18 Infections

By Devoun Cetoute • 2 hours ago

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Health officials have confirmed four more local cases of West Nile virus in Miami-Dade County, bringing the county total to 18 residents.

On Friday, the Florida Department of Health in Miami-Dade County confirmed four more residents have the West Nile virus infection from local transmission.

Widespread Use Of Face Masks Could Save Tens Of Thousands Of Lives, Models Project

By Huo Jingnan & Mary Louise Kelly • 2 hours ago

More widespread wearing of face masks could prevent tens of thousands of deaths by COVID-19, epidemiologists and mathematicians project.

A model from the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation shows that near-universal wearing of cloth or homemade masks could prevent between 17,742 and 28,030 deaths across the US before Oct. 1.

Business As Usual During The Pandemic, This Time Through Plexiglass

By Sacha Pfeiffer • 2 hours ago

With coronavirus cases surging in the U.S., many people are concluding they'll have to learn to live with the virus until a COVID-19 vaccine is widely available — and that's led to a huge increase in orders for plexiglass and other types of clear plastic barriers meant to keep us safe.

"Demand is ridiculously high," said Jackie Yong, a 17-year employee of J. Freeman, Inc., a plastics distributor and sign supplier in Boston whose products include plexiglass and other plastic sheets. "Everything's just been flying out the door."

Florida Enters Critical Period In Coronavirus Fight

By David Fleshler - Sun Sentinel • 3 hours ago

Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel

The next two weeks will be crucial in Florida’s struggle with coronavirus, as we learn if the staggering numbers of new cases produce a sharp increase in deaths and whether new government restrictions succeed in slowing the disease’s spread. Here are two scenarios, based on interviews with experts:

South Florida Tourism Copes With Fourth Of July Coronavirus Restrictions

By Alexander Gonzalez & Tom Hudson • 3 hours ago

Hotels and other hospitality businesses are facing a different Fourth of July this year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

COVID-19 cases keep spiking in South Florida and throughout the state. Local governments are instituting restrictions that will likely affect the worry-free vacations that folks would normally be expecting.

As COVID-19 Spreads Across South Florida, Pressure Builds to Boost Contact Tracing

By Verónica Zaragovia • 3 hours ago

Contact tracing is like detective work that helps contain COVID-19. When someone tests positive, a contact tracer starts an investigation to find out who was within close distance of this new case. Those people should self isolate.
Counties depend on the state's Department of Health for contact tracing, but some want to do more at the local level. Broward County has recently added 150 of its own contact tracers.

WLRN | Sundial

Divided States of the Pandemic

How a National Health Crisis Fell On The Backs Of Local Leaders

On Friday, March 13, President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence stood in the White House Rose Garden to declare COVID-19 a national emergency. But the risk of the disease, Pence told the nation, remained low. “We don’t want everybody taking this test; it’s totally unnecessary,” Trump assured Americans. “This will pass.”