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
Florida Reports 8,436 COVID-19 Cases, 97 Additional Deaths
Updated at 3:25 p.m. Sunday
Florida’s Department of Health on Sunday confirmed 8,436 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the state’s known total to 1,058,074. Also, 93 new resident deaths were announced, bringing the resident toll to 19,177.
Four new non-resident deaths were also announced, bringing the non-resident toll to 246.
Miami-Dade County reported 1,999 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 17 new deaths, according to Florida’s Department of Health. The county has a total of 243,050 confirmed cases and 3,913 deaths.
-Michelle Marchante / Miami Herald
Read more from our news partner the Miami Herald
Florida Hospitalizations Up 68% In Last Four Weeks, But Still Below Summer Levels
Updated Sunday at 11 a.m.
COVID-19 hospitalizations in Florida are up almost 68% in the past four weeks — 123% in Miami-Dade County alone — but the state is not facing bed shortages like other parts of the country with a surge of infected people.
The U.S. on Friday hit a record with 101,276 patients now hospitalized with a coronavirus diagnosis, according to The COVID Tracking Project. Officials in California, Arizona, Indiana and other states say they are worried about their health care systems becoming crushed as infections surge.
But Florida, with 4,341 people hospitalized midday Saturday with a primary diagnosis of COVID-19, still remains far below its summer crisis point.
-By Marc Freeman/The Sun Sentinel
Read more from our news partner the Sun Sentinel
Read more from our news partner the Sun Sentinel
Statewide Cases Increase By More Than 10,000 For Second Day In A Row
Updated Friday at 2:50 p.m.
Florida’s Department of Health confirmed an additional 10,177 positive cases of COVID-19 Friday. Florida has a total of 1,039,207 confirmed positive cases, according to the state's health department.
Friday's update also included the announcement of 120 new resident deaths, increasing the statewide number of Floridians who died to 18,994. Factoring in non-resident deaths the number of deaths due to COVID-19 is 19,236.
Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties make up 7,298 of those reported deaths. Monroe County has reported 28 deaths due to COVID-19.
— WLRN News
Struggling To Pay Your FPL Bill During The COVID-19 Pandemic? Here’s Where To Get Help
Updated Friday at 7:40 a.m.
It’s difficult to live in Florida without reliable electricity, especially in the midst of a pandemic when it’s safer to stay home and quarantine than go outside.
And power bills can be expensive, particularly if you’ve lost your job or are furloughed and also have to pay for rent, food and other basics. In June 2020,FPL estimated that a regular residential customer’s monthly bill would cost $96.43. This includes Florida’s gross receipt tax and excludes credits, fees or local taxes that may be added depending on where the customer lives.
This year, more than 30,000 Florida Power & Light customers are months behind on their payments and on Oct. 1, the utility resumed disconnections after pausing them in March.
— By Michelle Marchante
Read more from our news partner at The Miami Herald.
Lake Worth Beach Commissioners Moving Slowly On Lifting Short-Term Rental Ban
Updated Friday at 7:35 a.m.
Short-term home rentals are banned in Lake Worth Beach, at least in theory.
City officials readily admit that the prohibition is widely flouted by property owners, who operate an estimated 200 such businesses within the municipal boundaries, according to William Waters, director of community sustainability.
Since a May 21 work session to address the subject, a majority of the city commission has expressed a willingness to ditch the restriction andallow short-term rentals defined as less than 60 days.
— By Jorge Milian / The Palm Beach Post
Read more from our news partner at The Palm Beach Post.
PPP Loans In Florida Cost $31.9 Billion And Saved 3.3 Million Jobs
Updated Friday at 7:33 a.m.
The Paycheck Protection Program meant to keep workers employed at small businesses during the first months of the coronavirus pandemic saved 3.3 million jobs in Florida, according to new data on borrowers and loan amounts released by the Small Business Administration.
PPP, a program developed in part by Senate Small Business Committee chairman and Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, was part of a massive $2 trillion relief bill that became law in March. PPP was designed as a forgivable government loan to small businesses affected by the pandemic, essentially allowing businesses who employ 500 employees or fewer to have payroll and business expenses covered by the federal government for a period of time.
The Small Business Administration released data in July that showed the program saved 3.2 million jobs in Florida. But the data released over the summer only included the names of loan recipients who got more than $150,000. The data released by the federal government on Tuesday — after lawsuits from multiple media organizations — included the names of all loan recipients and provided an updated look at a program that was extended until August.
— By Alex Daugherty, Rob Wile and Ben Wieder / The Miami Herald
Read more from our news partner at The Miami Herald.
