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Coronavirus Live Updates: Florida Adds More Than 6,900 New Cases, Statewide Resident Deaths Surpass 27,000 Mark

Florida Department of Health dashboard as of Feb. 3, 2021
Florida Department of Health
Florida Department of Health dashboard as of Feb. 3, 2021

This post will be updated today, Wednesday, Feb. 3, and through the week with the latest information on COVID-19 in South Florida.

WLRN staff continues to add updates on testing and vaccination sites, executive orders and messages from government officials, and the latest news on COVID-19. You can find information on free food and food distributions here.

The dedicated website for the Florida Department of Health, including information about the 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 6,900 New Cases, Statewide Resident Deaths Surpass 27,000 Mark

Updated Wednesday at 5:10 p.m.

Florida’s Department of Health confirmed an additional 6,979 positive cases of COVID-19 Wednesday. Florida has a total of 1,744,619 confirmed positive cases, according to the state's health department.

Wednesday's update also included the announcement of 197 new resident deaths, increasing the statewide number of Floridians who died to 27,019. Factoring in non-resident deaths the number of deaths due to COVID-19 is 27,472.

Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties make up 9,256 of those reported deaths. Monroe County has reported 41 deaths due to COVID-19.

— WLRN News

Audit Requested After Vaccine Doses Spoiled In Palm Beach County

Updated Wednesday at 12:55 p.m.

The Florida Department of Health on Wednesday requested an audit after more than 1,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses were spoiled in Palm Beach County. The department called on the Health Care District of Palm Beach County to complete the audit by Feb. 12.

The request came after the district said last week about 1,160 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine spoiled after a refrigeration storage unit was unintentionally turned off. Attempts to contact the district Wednesday for comment were not immediately successful.

"It is a tragedy that even one dose of this critical resource would go to waste and not be used to save a life from COVID-19,” state Surgeon General Scott Rivkees said in a prepared statement Wednesday. “In Florida, we have been diligent to preserve and utilize every single dose of the vaccine. While we must rely on partners to distribute this critical resource, we expect that every provider treat the vaccine as the precious commodity that it is. We hope to see this situation rectified and addressed immediately to ensure the Palm Beach County Health Care District does not let one more dose go to waste.”

— News Service of Florida Staff

For Publix’s Next Vaccine Sign-Up, You Won’t Need To Wake Up Before Dawn

Updated Wednesday at noon

The hundreds of thousands of people who crushed the Publix website Wednesday and left without a vaccine appointment can sleep in a bit later when they try again Friday.

“After listening to customer feedback, we’ve moved back the start time of the next event by one hour,” the Publix website reads. The new start time will be 7 a.m. at www.publix.com/covidvaccine. An appointment is required and only seniors age 65 and older who can show proof of Florida residency can book a spot. The site previously opened at 6 a.m.

Publix spokeswoman Maria Brous said 41,000 appointments were booked Wednesday morning and “we can confirm that we had hundreds of thousands of customers online.”

Read more at our news partner the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

— Lisa J. Huriash / Sun Sentinel

Mobile COVID Testing Will Continue At Miami-Dade Schools. Here Are The New Dates

Updated Wednesday at 6:08 a.m

Are you looking for a place to get your child tested for COVID-19? You may not have to look further than their school.

Miami-Dade Public Schools and the University of Miami Health System announced additional dates for mobile testing in school parking lots.

Last month, the school system and health system expanded testing for children by having the Health System’s Pediatric Mobile Unit visit various schools across the county.

The new schedule began Tuesday, with a visit at Homestead Senior High School, 2351 SE 12th Ave. There will also be March dates, but those have not been released yet.

— By Carli Teproff / The Miami Herald

Read more from our news partner at The Miami Herald.

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