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
Updated Sunday at 5:40 p.m.
State Reports More than 5,000 New Cases, 95 Deaths
The state of Florida’s COVID-19 dashboard reported 5,065 new cases and 95 total deaths Sunday, the second day under 100 deaths in 2021.
The first such day was last Sunday, Feb. 14, which had 96 deaths, all of which were residents.
Of the 95 deaths, 93 were Florida residents.
— By David J. Neal / Miami Herald
Read more from our news partner the Miami Herald
Updated Sunday at 11:45 a.m.
Jackson Announces New Vaccine Appointments Sunday Morning, They're Gone In Less Than An Hour
Jackson Health System announced at 8:36 Sunday morning it had an “extremely limited” number of COVID-19 vaccine appointments” available “shortly” for patients 65 and over.
The site was active by 8:37 a.m. and out of appointments by 9:22 a.m.
Appointments made in the morning will be either for the same day or later that day while those made in the evening will be for the next day.
— David J. Neal/Miami Herald
Read more from our news partner the Miami Herald
Broward County Public Schools Expands Free Grab-And-Go Meals For Students
Updated Friday at 2:40 p.m.
Broward County Public Schools' Food and Nutrition Services announced Wednesday that it is expanding its free grab-and-go meal program for students.
Sunday meals will now be included in the school district's meal distribution — now providing students with breakfast and lunch for all seven days of the week.
A child or parent providing identification for their child may pick up Sunday meals every Thursday. All students, regardless if they’re attending school in person or remotely, are eligible. The meals are distributed at all elementary, middle and high schools in the Broward County public school district.
Miami-Dade Public Schools announced a similar meal distribution expansion last week.
— Sherrilyn Cabrera/WLRN News
Florida Adds More Than 6,600 New Cases, Resident And Non-Resident Death Toll Surpasses 30,000
Updated Friday at 2:35 p.m.
Florida’s Department of Health confirmed an additional 6,683 positive cases of COVID-19 Friday. Florida has a total of 1,856,427 confirmed positive cases, according to the state's health department.
Friday's update also included the announcement of 218 new resident deaths, increasing the statewide number of Floridians who died to 29,692.
Factoring in non-resident deaths the number of deaths due to COVID-19 is 30,214.
— WLRN News
Four New Vaccine Sites Coming To Florida, Including One In Miami
Updated Friday at 1:25 p.m.
The federal government will open four COVID-19 vaccination sites in Florida that will give up to 3,000 shots a day.
The sites will open in Miami at Miami Dade Community College North Campus; in Orlando at Valencia College West Campus, in Tampa at Tampa Greyhound Track and in Jacksonville at Gateway Mall.
These sites will open on March 3 and will operate seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Each site will administer 2,000 vaccines per day. Additionally, each site will have two smaller, mobile satellite sites that will conduct 500 vaccinations per day in nearby underserved areas.
Read more at our news partner the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
— Cindy Krischer Goodman / Sun Sentinel
Palm Beach County School Employees Over 65 Can Be Vaccinated Starting Today
Updated Friday at 8:57 a.m
With most of this week’s supply of coronavirus vaccines still stuck in the snow and ice-covered north, Palm Beach County officials are moving forward with plans to inoculate teachers over the age of 65.
In an answer to pleas from Schools Superintendent Donald Fennoy and the teachers union, the county health department will offer vaccines to school employees who are over the age of 65.
About 260 of the district’s 1,500 employees who are over the age of 65 said they wanted to be vaccinated. An appointment-only clinic will be held Saturday at the Mid-County Senior Center in Palm Springs, said Justin Katz, president of the county Classroom Teachers Association.
— By Jane Musgrave / The Palm Beach Post
Read more from our news partner at The Palm Beach Post.
Vaccine Unlikely To Arrive Before Monday; Publix Cancels Friday
Updated Friday at 6:20 a.m
With most of this week’s supply of coronavirus vaccines still stuck in the snow and ice-covered north, Palm Beach County officials are moving forward with plans to inoculate teachers over the age of 65 and open a new vaccination site in the northern part of the county.
While Publix and other county sites were unable to offer first doses of the vaccines this week because of a winter storm that gripped most of the nation, officials said they expect to use what will be a double shipment to make up for lost time.
“Assuming we get them Monday or Tuesday, it won’t slow us down,” said Darcy Davis, CEO of the county’s health care district. It operates vaccination sites at the South County Civic Center near Delray Beach and the South Florida Fairgrounds in suburban West Palm Beach.
— By Jane Musgrave / The Palm Beach Post
Read more from our news partner at The Palm Beach Post.
A New Mobile Vaccine Site Is Opening In Miami Gardens. No Appointments Required
Updated Friday at 6:15 a.m
Miami-Dade County is opening its first walk-up mobile vaccination site this weekend as part of an effort to bring vaccines into underserved neighborhoods.
Oliver G. Gilbert III, the Miami-Dade County District 1 commissioner, announced Thursday that a new mobile vaccination center will temporarily open in Miami Gardens.
Interested seniors over 65 years old should go to Carol City Park at 3201 NW 185th St., and register there, starting at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 20. You won’t need to schedule an appointment ahead of time.
— By Jimena Tavel and Bianca Padró Ocasio / The Miami Herald
Read more from our news partner at The Miami Herald.
Some Caribbean, Latin American Nations Are Finally Getting COVID Vaccines, Thanks To India
Updated Friday at 6:09 a.m
As the leader of a small Caribbean island still struggling to rebuild nearly four years after a devastating hurricane, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit never thought he would get a hold of COVID-19 vaccines swiftly. Then a call to India changed everything.
Last week, an airplane carrying two consignments of Covishield, the India-produced version of the AstraZeneca vaccine, landed in the Caribbean. One was for Barbados, which would receive 100,000 doses, and the other for Dominica, which received 70,000 doses.
“I must confess that I did not imagine that the prayers of my country would be answered so swiftly,” said Skerrit, who plans to use some of the supplies to vaccinate many of his 72,000 inhabitants in Dominica and share the rest with neighboring Caribbean islands.
— By Jacqueline Charles / The Miami Herald
Read more from our news partner at The Miami Herald.
