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 Adds More Than 7,100 New Cases, 127 New Resident Deaths
Updated Wednesday at 3:05 p.m.
Florida’s Department of Health confirmed an additional 7,128 positive cases of COVID-19 Wednesday. Florida has a total of 1,885,661 confirmed positive cases, according to the state's health department.
Wednesday's update also included the announcement of 127 new resident deaths, increasing the statewide number of Floridians who died to 30,340. Factoring in non-resident deaths the number of deaths due to COVID-19 is 30,878.
Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties make up 10,142 of those reported deaths. Monroe County has reported 46 deaths due to COVID-19.
— WLRN News
Health Care District Of Palm Beach County Resumes Vaccine Appointments
Updated Wednesday at 11:55 a.m.
The Health Care District of Palm Beach County will resume COVID-19 vaccination appointments after winter storms across the U.S. reduced supplies.
In a statement last night, the district said it’s scheduling appointments for people 65 and older and they're prioritizing people who were previously on the Florida Department of Health's vaccine waitlist.
People without internet access can call 561-804-4115 to schedule a vaccine appointment.
You can find a link to Palm Beach County and other vaccine appointment sites here.
— Wilkine Brutus / WLRN News
FIU Tells Employees To Return To Campus By Monday, Pushing For Summer Reopening
Updated Wednesday at 6:45 a.m
The board of trustees at Florida International University pushed school leaders Tuesday to reopen more of the state university by the start of the May summer session, despite a backlash from faculty and staff that such a move would heighten their risk of contracting COVID-19 on the two Miami-Dade campuses.
The board did not vote on the decision. Instead, Chair Dean Colson strongly recommended to FIU President Mark Rosenberg and his team that they increase the number of students, faculty and staff on campus, starting with FIU’s first summer sessions on May 10.
Colson asked if any trustee opposed the measure. None did.
— By Jimena Tavel / The Miami Herald
Read more from our news partner at The Miami Herald.
Publix Will Resume COVID-19 Vaccine Sign-ups Wednesday, But Not In South Florida
Updated Wednesday at 6:40 a.m
Publix received more vaccine doses and says it will start making vaccination appointments again starting Wednesday.
South Florida’s counties aren’t among the 20 counties whose pharmacies will participate this week, the grocery chain said in a news release Tuesday. The online reservation system will reopen at 7 a.m. Wednesday for 273 stores in 20 Florida counties, and the new appointments will be for Friday, the release said.
Those counties are: Alachua, Columbia, DeSoto, Duval, Highlands, Hillsborough, Lake, Leon, Manatee, Nassau, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Sarasota, Seminole, Sumter and Suwannee.
— By Brooke Baitinger / The South Florida Sun Sentinel
Read more from our news partner at The South Florida Sun Sentinel.
Federal Court Deals Blow To Broward’s COVID-19 Curfew
Updated Wednesday at 6:30 a.m
A federal appeals court cleared the way for Broward’s restaurants and bars to remain open later after midnight, crippling the county’s effort to limit operating hours to slow the spread of COVID-19.
While the number of new cases has declined statewide in recent weeks as more and more residents have been vaccinated, the effects of the pandemic are far from over.
Earlier this week, the U.S. surpassed 500,000 deaths attributed to the coronavirus.
— By Rafael Olmeda / The South Florida Sun Sentinel
Read more from our news partner at The South Florida Sun Sentinel.
Jackson’s New COVID Vaccine Policy Is Likely To Favor The More Affluent. Here’s Why
Updated Wednesday at 6:29 a.m
Miami-Dade County’s public hospital scheduled its first COVID vaccine appointments for people 55 and over with certain medical conditions on Tuesday, but there is one major caveat: a physician needs to sign off before you get the shot.
That is likely to be especially difficult for South Florida’s low-income communities and will serve as a barrier for those with less access to healthcare, but who would potentially benefit even more from the vaccine, according to experts interviewed by the Miami Herald.
By enacting a policy this week requiring doctor’s notes to vaccinate those 55 to 65 who have one of 13 ‘at-risk’ medical conditions, the public hospital has solidified a tilted playing field where more affluent — and disproportionately white — people will have an advantage in accessing a public health resource, said Zinzi Bailey, a University of Miami research professor who studies healthcare inequities.
— By Ben Conarck / The Miami Herald
Read more from our news partner at The Miami Herald.
