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 1,870 New Cases, 49 New Resident Deaths
Updated Thursday at 4:50 p.m.
Florida’s Department of Health confirmed an additional 1,878 positive cases of COVID-19 Thursday. The state has a total of 2,329,867 confirmed positive cases, according to the state's health department.
Wednesday's update also included the announcement of 49 new resident deaths, increasing the statewide number of Floridians who died to 36,973. Including non-residents, the number of deaths due to COVID-19 is 37,717.
Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties make up 12,434 of those reported deaths. Monroe County has reported 52 deaths due to COVID-19.
— WLRN News
6 Kids Ages 12-14 In Palm Beach County Are Fully Vaccinated; Vans To Set Up Near Schools
Updated Thursday at 5:45 a.m.
With reports showing that only six children between the ages of 12 and 14 in Palm Beach County are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and just 6,310 have gotten at least one shot, school officials are making plans to make it easier for youth to get inoculated.
While exact dates and times are still being worked out, the Palm Beach County School Board on Wednesday agreed to offer vaccines this month at four locations around the county.
Mobile vaccination units are to set up shop in the parking lots of the school district headquarters on Forest Hill Boulevard and the West Technical Education Center in Belle Glade.
— By Jane Musgrave / The Palm Beach Post
Read more from our news partner at The Palm Beach Post
Lumber Prices Still Sky-High Amid COVID Shortage. What’s Being Done To Get Costs Down?
Updated Thursday at 5:39 a.m.
Lumber prices have continued surging in response to supply shortages spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The lumber scarcity matched with increased demand during the pandemic drove costs sky-high, which in turn has increased construction and housing costs and left government officials and those within the industry grappling with how to rebound supply and bring costs down.
Between April 2020 and April 2021, the National Association of Home Builders said the “price per thousand board feet” increased by nearly 250% — from $350 to $1,200. Prices then soared past $1,400 in early May and have continued increasing since.
— By Bailey Aldridge / The Miami Herald
Read more from our news partner at The Miami Herald