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
State Reports 22 Deaths On Sunday, Most From South Florida
Updated Sunday at 3:10 p.m.
The Florida Department of Health’s COVID-19 dashboard reported 4,794 new confirmed cases and 22 total deaths Sunday, each of whom was a Florida resident and the vast majority from Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
While Palm Beach and Monroe counties reported no deaths, Miami-Dade reported 17 and Broward reported two.
Sunday is usually the day with the lowest case numbers and death toll because data tends to be collected and entered at a lower rate on the weekends. This week’s numbers show 149 more people testing positive and 14 fewer deaths reported than on last Sunday’s report.
— David J. Neal / The Miami Herald
Read more from our news partner the Miami Herald
The Free Ride Is Almost Over On Miami-Dade Transit With Fares Returning On June 1
Updated Friday at 3:50 p.m.
Miami-Dade County plans to move buses and Metrorail stations closer to a pre-pandemic routine this summer by lifting the suspension of passenger fares on June 1.
Miami-Dade’s transit agency suspended fares early in the COVID-19 pandemic emergency, on March 22, 2020, as a way to keep bus operators isolated from passengers and reduce contact with machinery needed to purchase fare cards and pay for rides.
At the time, Miami-Dade couldn’t provide transit employees with high-grade masks or enough cleaning equipment to regularly sanitize the areas around them.
Read more at our news partner the Miami Herald.
— Douglas Hanks / Miami Herald
Florida Adds More Than 6,400 New Cases, 92 New Resident Deaths
Updated Friday at 3:35 p.m.
Florida’s Department of Health confirmed an additional 6,490 positive cases of COVID-19 Friday. The state has a total of 2,071,015 confirmed positive cases, according to the state's health department.
Friday's update also included the announcement of 92 new resident deaths, increasing the statewide number of Floridians who died to 33,586. Factoring in non-resident deaths the number of deaths due to COVID-19 is 34,239.
Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties make up 11,234 of those reported deaths. Monroe County has reported 49 deaths due to COVID-19.
— WLRN News
Palm Beach County Schools To Hold Vaccination Clinics This Week
Updated Friday at 6:04 a.m
For the second time in three weeks, Palm Beach County school employees will have a special opportunity this week to get a one-shot Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine.
At the same time, additional opportunities will be available for West Palm Beach residents to get shots.
The special school vaccination clinics will be held for both public and private teachers, cafeteria workers, guidance counselors and other employees age 40 and up on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Read more from our news partner at The Palm Beach Post.
— By Jane Musgrave / The Palm Beach Post
NSU To Require COVID Vaccines For All Students And Staff For In-Person Fall Semester
Updated Friday at 6:01 a.m
Nova Southeastern University will return to in-person classroom learning in the fall, and every single student and staff member must be vaccinated by then, the university announced Thursday.
Spokesman Joe Donzelli said NSU is the first school in the country to require both students and staff to be vaccinated.
The private university did not provide the date that instruction will begin but said all students and staff must be fully vaccinated by Aug. 1, four months from now.
Read more from our news partner at The South Florida Sun Sentinel.
— By Brooke Baitinger and Cindy Krischer Goodman / The South Florida Sun Sentinel
