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 5,000 New Cases, 91 New Resident Deaths
Updated Tuesday at 2:45 p.m.
Florida’s Department of Health confirmed an additional 5,062 positive cases of COVID-19 Tuesday. The state has a total of 2,052,441 confirmed positive cases, according to the state's health department.
Tuesday's update also included the announcement of 91 new resident deaths, increasing the statewide number of Floridians who died to 33,338.
Factoring in non-resident deaths the number of deaths due to COVID-19 is 33,983.
— WLRN News
Thousands Of Homebound Seniors In South Florida Sign Up For Door-To-Door Vaccine Program
Updated Tuesday at 6:00 a.m
More than 5,200 elderly Floridians have been vaccinated as part of the state’s door-to-door effort to inoculate homebound seniors — and thousands more from South Florida are hoping to join that group.
The program, which launched in February, was created to help vaccinate seniors who have limited mobility or don’t feel comfortable leaving their homes. After 1,500 people were inoculated in a trial run, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on March 11 they would be expanding the program for seniors to “have the vaccine come directly to them.”
Since then, strike teams have administered the COVID-19 vaccine to more than 3,700 people, a state spokeswoman said. Additionally, more than 6,100 people have requested to be vaccinated as part of the program — with more than half of those people hailing from South Florida.
Read more from our news partner at The South Florida Sun Sentinel.
— By Wells Dusenbury / The South Florida Sun Sentinel
Florida says 16- And 17-year-olds Can Get A COVID Vaccine On The Same Day All Adults Can
Updated Tuesday at 5:55 a.m
Starting April 5, anyone 18 and older will be able to get the vaccine in Florida. And, now, so will 16- and 17-year-olds.
Florida has clarified that 16- and 17-year-old teenagers will be able to get the COVID-19 vaccine on April 5, the same day that all adults in the state become eligible.
The Florida Division of Emergency Management, which is tasked with the state’s vaccine distribution, made the announcement in a news release late Friday.
Read more from our news partner at The Miami Herald.
— By Michelle Marchante / The Miami Herald
