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Coronavirus Live Updates: Almost 2,500 New Cases Reported Sunday, 22 Deaths

Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava ended the county’s last local mask rule, which required facial coverings in county-owned buildings. The announcement on May 13, 2021, followed new guidance from the CDC declaring fully vaccinated people no longer have to wear masks.
PEDRO PORTAL PPORTAL@MIAMIHERALD.COM
/
The Miami Herald
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava ended the county’s last local mask rule, which required facial coverings in county-owned buildings. The announcement on May 13, 2021, followed new guidance from the CDC declaring fully vaccinated people no longer have to wear masks.

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

State Reports 22 Deaths On Sunday, Only 2 In South Florida

Updated Sunday at 3:25 p.m.

Sunday’s Florida Department of Health’s daily COVID-19 dashboard report showed 2,482 new cases and 22 total deaths, but only two deaths in South Florida.

Both of those were in Miami-Dade County. 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.

For the coronavirus pandemic, Florida reports 2,292,004 cases, 36,075 resident deaths and 36,798 total deaths.

— By David J. Neal / The Miami Herald

Read more from our news partner The Miami Herald

Florida Adds More Than 3,500 New Cases, Resident Deaths Reach 36,000 Mark

Updated Friday at 5:20 p.m.

Florida’s Department of Health confirmed an additional 3,590 positive cases of COVID-19 Friday. The state has a total of 2,286,203 confirmed positive cases, according to the state's health department.

Friday update also included the announcement of 71 new resident deaths, increasing the statewide number of Floridians who died to 36,000. Factoring in non-resident deaths the number of deaths due to COVID-19 is 36,719.

Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties make up 12,107 of those reported deaths. Monroe County has reported 49 deaths due to COVID-19.

— WLRN News

Masks Are No Longer Required At Miami-Dade Libraries. Still Mandatory On Metrorail

Updated Friday at 6:00 a.m.

Hours after President Biden’s administration declared vaccinated people largely free to go maskless, Miami-Dade’s mayor declared an end to mandatory masks at county buildings.

“This is truly the day we have been waiting for,” Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said in a video message Thursday night. “And I feel more confident than ever that we are reaching the the light at the end of a very dark tunnel.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis had already swept away most of Miami-Dade’s mask mandates two weeks ago with a statewide decree ending local COVID-19 restrictions. Levine Cava, a Democrat, faulted the Republican governor’s May 3 order at the time, and said “pretending” the pandemic was over “won’t make it go away.” She then used her power as the county’s top administrator to declare mask rules would still be in place for county buildings, including libraries.

— By Douglas Hanks / The Miami Herald

Read more from our news partner at The Miami Herald.

Masks Will Be Optional In Palm Beach County Schools Next Year

Updated Friday at 5:50 a.m.

At least one South Florida school district will make masks voluntary next year, even as they require them for the rest of this school year.

Palm Beach County’s school district announced the decision Thursday to make masks optional for students and staff starting next school year. The current school year ends June 18, and students and staff must wear masks until then, during next month’s high school graduation ceremonies and during summer school, Superintendent Donald Fennoy wrote in a letter to parents.

The school district won’t require masks next year because COVID-19 vaccines are widely available for adults and children, Palm Beach County’s positivity rate has been on a downward trend and because Gov. Ron DeSantis recommended against facial coverings in schools in the fall, Fennoy said.

— By Brooke Baitinger and Scott Travis / The South Florida Sun Sentinel

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

A COVID Vaccine Shot With Your Meal? Health Officials Hit Entertainment Spots

Updated Friday at 5:48 a.m.

As the number of people getting COVID-19 vaccines in Palm Beach County hit 10-week lows, health officials on Thursday began setting up shop outside bars and restaurants in downtown West Palm Beach to lure reluctant young people to get inoculated.

The unusual setting, more commonly associated with drinking shots than getting them, is among several entertainment areas the county’s Health Care District plans to target to increase the county’s stalled vaccination rates.

Initial efforts to reach people where they party have produced promising results, district officials said. During four days ending Monday, the district inoculated 170 people at the South Florida Fair. To take the sting out of the shot, all received a free return ticket.

— By Jane Musgrave / The Palm Beach Post

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

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