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 More Than 9,500, Deaths Increase By 84
Updated Wednesday at 4:35 p.m.
Florida’s Department of Health confirmed an additional 9,592 positive cases of COVID-19 Wednesday. Florida has a total of 1,083,362 confirmed positive cases, according to the state's health department.
Wednesday's update also included the announcement of 84 new resident deaths, increasing the statewide number of Floridians who died to 19,462. Factoring in non-resident deaths the number of deaths due to COVID-19 is 19,716.
Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties make up 7,395 of those reported deaths. Monroe County has reported 28 deaths due to COVID-19.
— WLRN News
Unemployment Pushing More People Out Of Their Homes
Updated Wednesday at 3:20 p.m.
One surge, it seems, leads to another.
The dramatic and deadly rise in coronavirus cases has led to a surge in homelessness, said Pamela Payne, chief executive officer of the Homeless Coalition of Palm Beach County.
Payne's assessment is based on anecdotal information obtained through the coalition and its partners, which include the Senator Philip D. Lewis Homeless Resource Center, Gulfstream Goodwill Industries, Adopt-A-Family of the Palm Beaches, The Lord's Place and the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.
Read more at the Palm Beach Post.
— Wayne Washington / Palm Beach Post
We're Dealing With '3 Whammos,' Health Director Says
Updated Wednesday at 8:10 a.m.
Palm Beach County’s top health official Tuesday painted a grim picture of the coronavirus pandemic, calling recent increases in the county’s positivity rate “alarming” and describing further spikes in cases as “inevitable.”
County Health Director Dr. Alina Alonso said the recent uptick in cases is coming at the worst possible moment.
“We have three whammos happening at the same time,” she said, ticking off the coming holiday season, the arrival of snowbirds and case counts that are already disturbingly high.
— By Jane Musgrave / The Palm Beach Post
Read more from our news partner at The Palm Beach Post.
DeSantis Says All Long-Term Care Residents Could Receive COVID-19 Vaccinations This Month
Updated Wednesday at 8:00 a.m.
Every resident of long-term care facilities in Florida could receive a COVID-19 vaccination by the end of this month, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday at a White House vaccines summit.
The governor’s ambitious schedule would mean that about 145,000 residents of 4,000 facilities would receive the vaccinations within the next few weeks, if they want them. Vaccines by Pfizer and Moderna are expected to receive approval this week and next.
“We could have every resident of nursing homes and long-term care facilities vaccinated in the month of December,” DeSantis said at a White House panel discussion with three other governors. “That’s within our grasp right now.”
— By David Fleshler and Cindy Krischer Goodman / The South Florida Sun Sentinel
Read more from our news partner at The South Florida Sun Sentinel.
DeSantis Said No More Virtual Meetings. Some South Florida Cities Are Doing It Anyway
Updated Wednesday at 7:50 a.m.
More than a half-dozen cities in South Florida have continued to hold government meetings entirely online as COVID-19 cases surge, even after Gov. Ron DeSantis let his executive order allowing virtual meetings expire Nov. 1 and suggested they were no longer permitted.
A handful of municipalities in Northeast Miami-Dade, including Aventura, Bal Harbour Village, Golden Beach, Indian Creek Village and Surfside, have issued emergency orders authorizing the continuation of virtual meetings. Several of those cities have seen officials and staff test positive for the virus in recent weeks.
“We have had employees test positive. We have a few employees that are very high risk,” said Golden Beach Mayor Glenn Singer, adding that the town council meets in small, enclosed chambers. “It would have definitely been risky.”
— By Aaron Leibowitz / The Miami Herald
Read more from our news partner at The Miami Herald.
Town Of Palm Beach Approves Curfew As COVID-19 Cases Surge
Updated Wednesday at 7:45 a.m.
A jarring 63 percent spike in COVID-19 cases in the town triggered the approval of a 1 to 5 a.m. curfew Tuesday that officials said they hope will convey the precarious situation on the island.
The curfew will go into effect 1 a.m. Monday and is believed to be the only municipal curfew in Palm Beach County.
A crush of seasonal residents eager to mingle, Thanksgiving gatherings and sun-seeking tourists were partly blamed for the increase that brought the total number of cases in the semi-cloistered community to 282 as of Sunday.
— By Kimberly Miller / The Palm Beach Post
Read more from our news partner at The Palm Beach Post.
