This post will be updated today, Friday, August 14, and through the weekend with the latest information on COVID-19 in South Florida.
WLRN staff continues to add to community resource lists, including this articleon where kids and families can get food while schools are closed, and this postabout whether and where to get tested for coronavirus.
The dedicated website for the Florida Department of Health, including information about symptoms and numbers of cases, can be found here.
The dedicated website from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention can be found here.
To receive WLRN's coronavirus updates newsletter on Wednesdays and Saturdays, sign up here.
QUICK UPDATES
State Reports Lowest Number Of COVID-19 Cases Since Late June
Updated Sunday at 11:40 a.m.
Florida’s Department of Health on Sunday reported 3,779 new cases of COVID-19 — the lowest daily total in nearly eight weeks.
The previous low came on June 23, when Florida reported 3,286 new cases. On Sunday, the state reported 104 additional deaths after back-to-back days of over 200 fatalities.
Those daily totals don’t reflect results from the past 24 hours, but rather several days and even weeks for COVID-19 death confirmations.
Read more from our news partner the Sun Sentinel
-Wells Dusenbury/Sun Sentinel
Florida Reports Another 204 Deaths From COVID-19
Updated Saturday at 11:45 a.m.
Florida’s Department of Health on Saturday reported the deaths of another 204 residents from COVID-19, raising the coronavirus pandemic toll to almost 9,500 fatalities.
The state also said at least 6,352 more people have been infected, pushing the overall total to nearly 570,000 cases.
Those daily totals don’t reflect results from the past 24 hours, but rather several days and even weeks for COVID-19 death confirmations.
Read more from our news partner the Sun Sentinel
-Marc Freeman/Sun Sentinel
Rapid COVID-19 Testing Coming To Palm Beach County
Updated Friday at 5:45 p.m.
Palm Beach County Mayor Dave Kerner announced Friday a rapid COVID-19 testing program that can give people results within hours.
Kerner says the positive results from the test are highly accurate.
"Antigen testing would be very useful for our first responders, deputy sheriffs, police officers, fire rescue, so that we don't have to put them in a quarantine for 14 days, thereby losing very essential personnel and staff that need to be out on the street protecting us," Kerner said.
The positive results for the antigen test have tended to be accurate but if a person tests negative, they stress that the person should confirm their results by taking a PCR test.
Antigen testing will be available to the public at the FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches starting next week. The date hasn't been finalized.
— Wilkine Brutus/WLRN News
Statewide Coronavirus Cases Pass 560,000, Deaths Surpass 9,000
Updated Friday at 12:45 p.m.
Florida surpassed 560,000 positive cases of COVID-19 as Florida’s Department of Health confirmed an additional 6,148 cases of COVID-19 on Friday. Florida has a total of 563,285 confirmed positive cases, according to the state's health department.
Friday's update also included the announcement of 228 new deaths, increasing the statewide number to 9,141. Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties make up 3,889 of those reported deaths. Monroe County has reported 13 deaths due to COVID-19.
-WLRN News
Coral Gables travel agency offers $250 credit for travelers who get tested for COVID-19
Updated Friday at 8:44 a.m.
When Felix Brambilla saw people crowded at Key West bars in June after the city reopened to tourists, he worried about the risk of COVID-19 spread.
As the owner of a Coral Gables-based travel agency, Brambilla has pivoted his business to focus almost exclusively on U.S. travel since the COVID-19 pandemic dried up his usual international clientele. The pivot has been largely successful; he’s kept all 38 of his employees. But with travel, even domestic, comes COVID-19 risk.
In an effort to limit the spread of COVID-19 while keeping the tourism business afloat, his travel agency, Overseas Leisure Group, is offering a $250 credit for people who get tested for the virus within 72 hours before their trips. Since the program, dubbed the “Responsible Traveler Challenge” launched last month, 218 travelers have taken advantage of the credit, Brambilla said.
To read more, visit our news partner at the Miami Herald.
-By Taylor Dolven / The Miami Herald
Hurricane evacuees from South Florida would spread COVID-19 cases by the thousands, new study finds
Updated Friday at 8:35 a.m.
South Florida residents fleeing the path of a powerful hurricane would almost certainly cause a spike in coronavirus infections across the state and beyond, according to a new study.
And decisions made during a hurricane evacuation could mean a difference of tens of thousands of new COVID-19 cases.
The study, conducted by scientists with the Union of Concerned Scientists and Columbia University, examines how four South Florida counties that are hotspots for coronavirus — Miami Dade, Palm Beach, Monroe and Broward — would influence the spread of COVID-19 should a Category 3 hurricane hit the area and force some residents to flee to safer regions.
To read more, visit our news partner at the Sun Sentinel.
-By Amber Randall / The Sun Sentinel
Older inmates fear coronavirus with four dead, 342 infected at South Bay
Updated Friday at 8:28 a.m.
Hobbled by arthritis, asthma, diabetes and a host of other health problems, Richard DeLisi has survived more than 30 years in Florida prisons.
But, the 71-year-old former South Florida resident and his attorneys don’t know if the convicted pot smuggler will survive the deadly coronavirus, which is ravaging inmates and guards at prisons throughout the state.
“He has two years left on his sentence,” said Loxahatchee attorney Elizabeth Buchannan, who is fighting for DeLisi’s release. “We’re worried he won’t make it.”
To read more, visit our news partner at the Palm Beach Post.
-By Jane Musgrave / Palm Beach Post
