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.
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QUICK UPDATES
Statewide Cases Increase By Nearly 10,000, One Day After Florida Surpassed One Million Mark
Updated Wednesday at 4:45 p.m.
Florida surpassed one million positive cases of COVID-19 as Florida’s Department of Health confirmed an additional 9,994 cases of COVID-19 Wednesday. Florida has a total of 1,018,160 confirmed positive cases, according to the state's health department.
Wednesday's update also included the announcement of 97 new resident deaths, increasing the statewide number of Floridians who died to 18,776. Factoring in non-resident deaths the number of deaths due to COVID-19 is 19,012.
Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties make up 7,232 of those reported deaths. Monroe County has reported 28 deaths due to COVID-19.
— WLRN News
UM, FIU To Hold Virtual Fall Graduations Amid COVID. MDC Sticks With Outdoors Ceremonies
Updated Wednesday at 7:00 a.m.
On the same day the state’s tally hit a million confirmed cases of COVID-19, the University of Miami — the largest private school in South Florida — canceled its in-person commencement ceremonies for the fall semester, joining its public counterpart, Florida International University.
Miami Dade College, however, still plans to hold face-to-face graduations in December.
UM President Julio Frenk, a top public health expert,called off the events in an email to the UM community Tuesday, about a week before the first celebration was to take place.
— By Jimena Tavel / The Miami Herald
Read more from our news partner at The Miami Herald.
CDC To Shorten Guidance For Quarantining After COVID-19 Exposure To 10 Days, 7 With A Negative Test
Updated Wednesday at 6:55 a.m.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is set to shorten the recommended length of quarantine after exposure to someone who is positive for COVID-19, as the virus rages across the nation.
According to a senior administration official, the new guidelines, which are set to be released as soon as Tuesday evening, will allow people who have come in contact to someone infected with the virus to resume normal activity after 10 days, or 7 days if they receive a negative test result. That’s down from the 14-day period recommended since the onset of the pandemic.
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the announcement, said the policy change has been discussed for some time, as scientists have studied the incubation period for the virus. The policy would hasten the return to normal activities by those deemed to be “close contacts” of those infected with the virus, which has infected more than 13.5 million Americans and killed at least 270,000.
— By Zeke Miller / The South Florida Sun Sentinel
Read more from our news partner at The South Florida Sun Sentinel.
‘Strike Team’ of COVID-19 Contact Tracers Assigned To Miami Beach Hotels, Restaurants
Updated Wednesday at 6:52 a.m.
Hotels, restaurants and cultural institutions in Miami Beach will now have a dedicated team of contact tracers available to investigate new cases of COVID-19 in the city’s hospitality sector.
The seven-person “strike team” of Florida Department of Health contact tracers was announced Tuesday as part of the city’s new Race to Trace program, funded by a $455,000 grant by The Rockefeller Foundation.
The contact tracers, who work for the state, will be assigned to investigate new coronavirus cases among employees at participating Miami Beach businesses. They will contact employees who test positive for the novel coronavirus and trace their recent contacts to curb the spread of the virus among other employees or visitors
— By Martin Vassolo / The Miami Herald
Read more from our news partner at The Miami Herald.
