WLRN staff continues to add to community resource lists, including this article on where kids and families can get food while schools are closed, and this post about 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
Judge Opens The Door To Late-Night Bars At A Time When COVID-19 Is Raging
Updated Tuesday at 3:25 p.m.
A federal court has rejected Broward County’s curfew on bars and restaurants, raising the possibility that nightclubs in much of Florida could operate through the night as COVID-19 rages.
The court specifically cited Gov. Ron DeSantis’ order in September that removed all restrictions on bars and restaurants as the state moved to Phase 3 of the coronavirus recovery.
Broward County’s rules, prohibiting the sale or alcohol between midnight and 5 a.m., are “speculative and arbitrary,” wrote U.S. Judge Raag Singhal of the Southern District of Florida.
Read more at our news partner the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
— Lisa J. Huriash / Sun Sentinel
Florida Adds More Than 10,000 New Cases, 74 Additional Resident Deaths
Updated Tuesday at 3 p.m.
Florida’s Department of Health confirmed an additional 10,434 positive cases of COVID-19 Tuesday. Florida has a total of 1,223,015 confirmed positive cases, according to the state's health department.
Tuesday's update also included the announcement of 74 new resident deaths, increasing the statewide number of Floridians who died to 20,754. Factoring in non-resident deaths the number of deaths due to COVID-19 is 21,052.
Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties make up 7,722 of those reported deaths. Monroe County has reported 33 deaths due to COVID-19.
— WLRN News
Coming To Miami-Dade School Parking Lots This Winter Break: Free COVID-19 Testing For Kids
Updated Tuesday at noon
A blue bus will replace the yellow ones normally parked in some Miami-Dade school lots during the holiday break.
The University of Miami’s pediatric mobile unit will visit six Miami-Dade County high schools Dec. 21 to 28 to offer free COVID-19 tests for people ages 4 to 18. The PCR tests are being offered both by appointment and walk-up.
The testing tour is being put on through a partnership between UM and Miami-Dade County Public Schools — and it’s being advertised as testing for students in the district — but Dr. Lisa Gwynn, director of the UM program, said children from other counties would not be turned away.
Children have to be accompanied by parents to get tested. More information here:
— Jessica Bakeman/WLRN News
Mixed-Status Immigrant Families Eligible For $600 Stimulus Checks In COVID Bill
Updated Tuesday at 6:20 a.m.
U.S. Citizens and green card holders— who were previously excluded from receiving the first round of stimulus checks in April if married to an undocumented immigrant — are likely to receive the second round of COVID relief money.
The House and Senate are expected to vote on the massive 5,593-page government spending and coronavirus relief bill, which includes payments up to $600, on Monday evening. The exact timing of the legislation becoming law is uncertain, though it is expected to pass after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin agreed to a compromise proposal on Sunday night after months of inaction.
“We have reached agreement with Republicans and the White House on an emergency coronavirus relief and omnibus package that delivers urgently needed funds to save the lives and livelihoods of the American people as the virus accelerates,” Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a joint statement. “As part of the agreement, democrats have secured provisions that include...a new round of direct payments worth up to $600 per adult and child, also ensuring that mixed-status families receive payments."
— By Monique O. Madan / The Miami Herald
Read more from our news partner at The Miami Herald.
