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 Almost 9,000 Cases Of COVID-19; Highest Sunday Count Since Nov. 15
Updated Sunday at 4 p.m.
The State of Florida’s COVID-19 dashboard reported 8,958 new confirmed COVID-19 cases Sunday, a count under 10,000 after six of the previous days had been above 10,000.
For a Sunday, however, which tends go have lower case and death counts because there’s less data collection and entry on the weekends, it’s the highest case number since Nov. 15’s 10,105.
The daily death toll stayed in the 80 to triple digits range that it’s been in since Nov. 30. With another 84 total deaths, Florida’s novel coronavirus pandemic totals stand at 1,125,931 cases, 19,866 resident deaths and 20,133 total deaths.
— By David J. Neal / The Miami Herald
Read more from our news partner at The Miami Herald
As COVID-19 Cases Spike, Miami Will Enforce Midnight Curfew As Of This Weekend
Updated Friday at 8:00 a.m.
Miami city police will start enforcing a countywide midnight curfew this weekend after commissioners unanimously voted Thursday to follow the Miami-Dade rule while COVID-19 cases spike.
City police, code enforcement staff and fire inspectors will immediately start educating business owners inside Miami city limits about the change before issuing citations over the weekend. Police Chief Jorge Colina said officers would start notifying people Thursday night and begin enforcement over the weekend, though he did not specify which day.
“So it’ll start over the weekend, but certainly we’re going to start going out there now to notify people that we’re going to be enforcing,” he told el Nuevo Herald.
— By Joey Flechas and Ana Claudia Chacin / The Miami Herald
Read more from our news partner at The Miami Herald.
Miami Expands COVID Relief Gift-Card Program So People Can Buy Meds, Pay Utilities
Updated Friday at 7:54 a.m.
Miami commissioners unanimously approved expanding a COVID-19 relief program to provide gift cards for city residents to use on groceries, medicine and utility payments.
Commissioner Alex Díaz de la Portilla voiced concerns after city administrators purchased thousands of Publix gift cards for each of the five commissioners to distribute through their offices under a program that is funded by federal CARES Act dollars disbursed by Miami-Dade County in November. The District 1 commissioner, who represents Miami’s Allapattah and Grapeland Heights neighborhoods, said his constituents tend to shop at other local markets.
Other commissioners said they would welcome the chance to buy from local grocers such as Sedano’s, Presidente, Milam’s and others. This week, multiple commission offices started distributing gift cards from other local markets.
— By Joey Flechas / The Miami Herald
Read more from our news partner at The Miami Herald.