© 2024 WLRN
MIAMI | SOUTH FLORIDA
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Coronavirus Live Updates: Florida Adds More Than 4,700 New Cases, 101 New Resident Deaths

Members of the U.S. Army work on the vaccines at Miami Dade College North Campus on March 6, 2021.
Verónica Zaragovia
Members of the U.S. Army work on the vaccines at Miami Dade College North Campus on March 6, 2021.

This post will be updated today, Tuesday, March 16, 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 4,700 New Cases, 101 New Resident Deaths

Updated Tuesday at 3:10 p.m.

Florida’s Department of Health confirmed an additional 4,791 positive cases of COVID-19 Tuesday. The state has a total of 1,984,425 confirmed positive cases, according to the state's health department.

Tuesday's update also included the announcement of 101 new resident deaths, increasing the statewide number of Floridians who died to 32,449. Factoring in non-resident deaths the number of deaths due to COVID-19 is 33,061.

Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties make up 10,822 of those reported deaths. Monroe County has reported 47 deaths due to COVID-19.

— WLRN News

Miami-Dade Police Halt Mask, Curfew Citations After DeSantis Suspends Fines

Updated Tuesday at 6:40 a.m

Miami-Dade County police have stopped issuing mask and curfew citations, calling the tickets pointless after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis canceled fines for violating emergency COVID-19 orders.

The county’s court system reported a sudden drop in emergency-order citations against businesses last weekend. During the weekend of March 5, courts reported 46 citations for violating emergency orders, all but one against businesses. During the weekend that ended Sunday, courts received zero emergency-order citations.

“We’re no longer issuing emergency-order citations,” said Det. Alvaro Zabaleta, spokesperson for the Miami-Dade Police Department. “We’re no longer doing it because the governor pardoned everything.”

— By Douglas Hanks / The Miami Herald

Read more from our news partner at The Miami Herald.

Some Vaccination Sites Just Lifted Restrictions For School Staff, Cops And Firefighters

Updated Tuesday at 6:35 a.m

Law enforcement and firefighters, regardless of age, can now register for a COVID-19 vaccination through Miami-Dade County’s online portal. So can pre-K-12 school personnel and childcare workers.

The move goes beyond Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ executive order, which restricts vaccinations to K-12 school staff, law enforcement and firefighters ages 50 and older and excludes preschool and daycare workers.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava announced the changes in a memo to county commissioners and wrote it was to “ensure we are distributing our existing supply as efficiently as possible to protect frontline education workers and first responders.”

— By Michelle Marchante / The Miami Herald

Read more from our news partner at The Miami Herald.

South Florida Counties Send United Message To DeSantis: ‘Common-Sense’ COVID Measures Still Needed

Updated Tuesday at 6:31 a.m

As spring breakers jammed beaches, South Florida counties issued an “extremely rare” joint statement Monday expressing concerns that Gov. Ron DeSantis’ decision to cancel COVID-19 fines sends a message that masks and other “common-sense” health measures are no longer needed.

DeSantis wiped away COVID-19-related fines last week, part of his push to block local governments from enforcing mask mandates and other public health measures.

Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties — the state’s most populous metro area and a popular destination for spring breakers — responded Monday.

— By Skyler Swisher and Brooke Baitinger / The South Florida Sun Sentinel

Read more from our news partner at The South Florida Sun Sentinel.

More On This Topic