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Coronavirus Live Updates: Florida Adds 1,700 New Cases, 147 New Resident Deaths

Dr. Daniel Carvajal, 34, draws a syringe with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at The Palace Renaissance & Royale, an assisted living facility in Kendall, on Wednesday, January 13, 2021. Vaccines were available Wednesday for The Palace residents and staff.
MATIAS J. OCNER MOCNER@MIAMIHERALD.COM
/
The Miami Herald
Dr. Daniel Carvajal, 34, draws a syringe with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at The Palace Renaissance & Royale, an assisted living facility in Kendall, on Wednesday, January 13, 2021. Vaccines were available Wednesday for The Palace residents and staff.

This post will be updated today, Monday, March 1, 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 1,700 New Cases, 147 New Resident Deaths

Updated Monday at 3:15 p.m.

Florida’s Department of Health confirmed an additional 1,700 positive cases of COVID-19 Monday. Florida has a total of 1,910,921 confirmed positive cases, according to the state's health department.

Monday's update also included the announcement of 147 new resident deaths, increasing the statewide number of Floridians who died to 30,999. Factoring in non-resident deaths the number of deaths due to COVID-19 is 31,556.

Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties make up 10,328 of those reported deaths. Monroe County has reported 46 deaths due to COVID-19.

— WLRN News

Vaccinations Expanding For Florida Police, Firefighters, Teachers

Updated Monday at 1:35 p.m.

Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday he will expand COVID-19 vaccinations to law-enforcement officers, firefighters and K-12 teachers who are age 50 or older. DeSantis told reporters he would issue an executive order later Monday that will mark an additional expansion of vaccinations that have focused since late December on people age 65 or older.

On Friday, DeSantis issued an executive order that allows physicians to vaccinate people under 65 who are deemed “extremely vulnerable” to the disease. The executive order also will allow advanced practice registered nurses and pharmacists to provide shots to such people if physicians determine that the recipients are extremely vulnerable.

Previously, only hospitals were authorized to give shots to people under 65 deemed extremely vulnerable. DeSantis indicated last week that he was likely to expand vaccinations to law-enforcement officers, firefighters and teachers 50 or older. An executive order would finalize the decision.

DeSantis said the expansion is bolstered, at least in part, by federal approval of a Johnson & Johnson vaccine. He said Florida could get 175,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine this week.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires only single doses, unlike Pfizer and Moderna vaccines that require two doses.

— By News Service of Florida Staff

'At Risk' People Under 65 Can Now Get Vaccines At Pharmacies, Doctor Offices In Florida

Updated Monday at 9:08 a.m

Anyone under 65 with a medical condition that makes them “extremely vulnerable” to COVID-19 can now get the vaccine in Florida through doctor offices and pharmacies.

The change is part of a new executive order Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued late Friday. Previously, only hospitals were allowed to vaccinate people under 65 who were deemed by a physician to be “extremely vulnerable” to COVID.

Now, anyone under 65 “determined by a physician to be extremely vulnerable” to the disease can get a shot at a doctor’s office or at a pharmacy like Publix or Navarro. You can also still get vaccinated at a hospital.

— By Michelle Marchante/ The Miami Herald

Read more from our news partner at The Miami Herald.

Not All Students Seeking College Credit Will Need To Take Tests In Person

Updated Monday at 5:47 a.m

The question of whether students seeking college credit through IB, AP or AICE will have to take exams in-person has been answered in Palm Beach County: It depends.

But the district has defaulted whenever possible to saying "no," or "it's up to the student," according to plans laid out Friday by Superintendent Donald Fennoy.

IB students won't have to take an in-person exam. AICE students will. At least that's how it looks. The district is awaiting some more information. AP students will have a choice, paper and pencil in-person, computer-based test, also from school or online from home.

— By Sonja Isger / The Palm Beach Post

Read more from our news partner at The Palm Beach Post.

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