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Coronavirus Live Updates: Florida Adds More Than 11,000 New Cases, 120 Additional Resident Deaths

A senior citizen holds the hand of a care coordinator on July 17, 2020, at a health facility in Miami. Federal officials plan to ship rapid coronavirus tests to assisted living facilities, moving to fill a testing gap for older adults who don’t need the constant attention of a nursing home. Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary for Health Brett Giroir said assisted living facilities will be followed by senior day care centers and home health agencies in getting the tests.
WILFREDO LEE AP
/
The Miami Herald
A senior citizen holds the hand of a care coordinator on July 17, 2020, at a health facility in Miami. Federal officials plan to ship rapid coronavirus tests to assisted living facilities, moving to fill a testing gap for older adults who don’t need the constant attention of a nursing home. Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary for Health Brett Giroir said assisted living facilities will be followed by senior day care centers and home health agencies in getting the tests.

This post will be updated today, Wednesday, Dec. 23, and through the week with the latest information on COVID-19 in South Florida.

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.

To receive WLRN's coronavirus updates newsletter on Wednesdays and Saturdays, sign up here.

QUICK UPDATES

Florida Adds More Than 11,000 New Cases, 120 Additional Resident Deaths

Updated Wednesday at 3:35 p.m.

Florida’s Department of Health confirmed an additional 11,384 positive cases of COVID-19 Wednesday. Florida has a total of 1,234,399 confirmed positive cases, according to the state's health department.

Wednesday's update also included the announcement of 120 new resident deaths, increasing the statewide number of Floridians who died to 20,874. Factoring in non-resident deaths the number of deaths due to COVID-19 is 21,173.

Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties make up 7,734 of those reported deaths. Monroe County has reported 33 deaths due to COVID-19.

— WLRN News

Why Are Nursing Home COVID Deaths Doubling In Florida? Advocates Blame Testing

Updated Wednesday at 1:40 p.m.

TALLAHASSEE

An alarming surge in coronavirus infections and deaths in Florida nursing homes since October has elder care advocates warning that the lack of a state strategy for accurate and immediate testing at elder care homes will mean this holiday season will be a heartbreaking one for many.

On Tuesday, AARP released a report that showsthat the COVID-19 death rate among Florida nursing home residents doubled in the three weeks around the Thanksgiving holiday, and infections continue to climb among the state’s most vulnerable residents. The death toll spike was so alarming that AARP decided to report on the data rather than wait for its scheduled monthly release on Jan. 10.

“The fundamental problem is the continued inability to provide accurate, rapid-result testing of everyone entering elder-care facilities — staff, visitors, family caregivers and vendors,’’ said David Bruns, spokesman for AARP.

Read more at our news partner the Miami Herald.

— Mary Ellen Klas / Miami Herald

Poll: Worry That COVID Vaccine's Presence Gives False Hope That Pandemic Is Almost Over

Updated Wednesday at 11 a.m.

The first approved coronavirusvaccine was given to frontline healthcare workers across the country this month, pushing the pandemic into a welcomed, hopefully final, stage.

But how long that stage lasts remains to be seen.

As more vaccines receive the federal stamp of emergency approval and more people are slowly granted access to them, health experts have warned that guidelines issued to curtail the spread of the highly contagious respiratory disease will still be required for many months to come.

Read more at the Palm Beach Post.

— Hannah Morse / Palm Beach Post

Can A New Year’s Curfew In Key West Hold Up In Federal Court? A Local Has Sued The City

Updated Wednesday At 6:22 a.m

A Key West man has sued the city over the mayor’s emergency order that puts a 10 p.m. curfew on the New Year’s holiday weekend.

Andrew T. Day says the order violates his constitutional rights to free speech and to peacefully assemble.

Day sued the city, Mayor Teri Johnston and City Manager Greg Veliz on Monday in U.S. District Court in Key West, asking the court to stop the curfew by issuing a temporary restraining order.

— By Gwen Filosa / The Miami Herald

Read more from our news partner at The Miami Herald.

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