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.
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QUICK UPDATES
Florida Surpasses 1.8 Million All-Time Positive Cases, Adds More Than 8,500 New Infections
Updated Thursday at 5:25 p.m.
Florida’s Department of Health confirmed an additional 8,525 positive cases of COVID-19 Thursday. Florida has a total of 1,806,805 confirmed positive cases, according to the state's health department.
Thursday's update also included the announcement of 174 new resident deaths, increasing the statewide number of Floridians who died to 28,382. Factoring in non-resident deaths the number of deaths due to COVID-19 is 28,871.
Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties make up 9,601 of those reported deaths. Monroe County has reported 42 deaths due to COVID-19.
— WLRN News
Publix’s COVID-19 Vaccine Sign-Up Lasted Longer. Is It Getting Easier To Book An Appointment?
Updated Thursday at 10:05 a.m.
Many people eager for vaccine appointments say they finally have a fighting chance, now that pharmacies are receiving a large vaccine supply.
The scarcity of appointments saw signs of easing Wednesday when Publix’s vaccine appointments didn’t fill up instantly this time: Wednesday’s sign-up lasted twice as long as before, taking about three hours to fill 53,000 appointments across Florida.
The grocery giant offered its largest sign-up with this week’s start of the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program, which broadened the vaccine distribution across the U.S. Publix almost doubled the number of counties where it’s distributing the vaccine in Florida, expanding to 593 stores in 41 of the state’s 67 counties.
Read more at our news partner the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
— Lisa J. Huriash / Sun Sentinel
Miami-Dade’s Vaccination Website Has A Big Shortcoming. County Planning A Fix Soon
Updated Thursday at 6:05 a.m
A week after Miami-Dade County launched online registration for a vaccine waiting list, instructions on the portal still only cater to English speakers.
The county site run by the private firm Nomi Health launched on Feb. 4 as a clearinghouse for anyone seeking a COVID-19 vaccine from Miami-Dade. Previously, Miami-Dade would take reservations as COVID-19 vaccines became available, granting appointments on a first-come, first-served basis.
Now, anyone seeking a vaccine can register on the new site and be contacted when vaccine slots are available. But while county-run websites on COVID-19 and community vaccination information can toggle to Spanish and Creole translations, the Nomi site where people actually register for the waiting list only provides instructions in English.
— By Douglas Hanks / The Miami Herald
Read more from our news partner at The Miami Herald.
TurtleFest Canceled; Loggerhead Marinelife Center Cites Coronavirus Concerns
Updated Thursday at 6:00 a.m
The Loggerhead Marinelife Center has canceled its TurtleFest ocean conservation festival for this year amid concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.
The event, which is held in March, joins a list of Palm Beach County festivals – SunFest, the South Florida Fair, the Race for the Cure and more – whose sponsors have either canceled them or scaled them back out of fear of spreading the virus.
Historically, TurtleFest has drawn more than 15,000 guests to the center's headquarters on U.S. 1 north of Donald Ross Road.
— By Julius Whigham II / The Palm Beach Post
Read more from our news partner at The Palm Beach Post.
