This post will be updated today, Thursday, April 9, with the latest information on COVID-19 in South Florida.
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WLRN staff continues to add to community resource lists, including this article on where kids and families can get food while schools are closed, and this post about whether and where to get tested for the coronavirus.
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QUICK UPDATES
Florida Unemployment Claim Forms Available At Some Palm Beach County Libraries
Thursday, April 9, updated at 1:45 p.m.
The state’s unemployment website can’t handle the record number of Floridians filing for unemployment, so Florida has made available paper forms people can fill out and file claims. In Palm Beach County, these forms are available in some libraries.
Susan Kelly, Lantana Road branch manager, said that since county branches are closed, most forms can be picked up “outside of the branch for pick-up” at the 17 locations.
The paper unemployment forms, provided by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, are not available at all library branches.
Nicole Hughes, community relations manager for the PBC Library System, said Hagen Ranch Road Branch Library, West Boynton Branch, Tequesta Branch, the Loula V. York Branch in Pahokee, and the Clarence E.Anthony Branch in South Bay do not currently have paper unemployment application forms.
Hughes said the Hagen Ranch Road Branch may have paper forms delivered next week, available in English, Spanish and Haitian Creole. The PBC Library System faced a few technical difficulties regarding jammed phone lines, but Hughes says they are fixing the issue.
Librarians can also be reached via phone, email, and through Florida's Ask a Librarian chat service.
— Wilkine Brutus
Florida Cases Jump Past 16,000; State Death Toll Hits 354
Thursday, April 9, updated at 12:23 p.m.
Florida’s Department of Health on Thursday morning confirmed 666 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the state total of confirmed cases to 16,364. There were 31 new deaths announced, bringing the statewide total to 354.
More than half of the new deaths were in South Florida. Thirteen were in Miami-Dade, six were in Broward and four were in Palm Beach County.
Information about the eight other deaths was not immediately available.
Of the total confirmed cases statewide, 15,883 are Florida residents and 481 are non-residents who were diagnosed or isolated in the state.
Read more at our news partner, the Miami Herald.
— Michelle Marchante
FIU, MDC Lend Ventilators To Hospitals As Florida COVID-19 Cases Near 16,000
Thursay, April 9, updated at 7 a.m.
As Florida's confirmed cases of coronavirus continue to rise –– now nearing 16,000 –– two South Florida schools are stepping up by lending their medical equipment to hospitals that are fighting in the frontlines.
The Miami Herald reports that Florida International University gave 28 of its ventilators to Florida emergency coordinators, who will distribute the equipment around the state to hospitals in need.
Miami Dade College's medical campus is helping Jackson Memorial Hospital with with 17 ventilators that are usually used for hands-on-training.
When a patient's lungs fail, ventilators take over the breathing process. But it doesn't guarantee a full recovery from COVID-19, only about one-third of the infected patients who are on ventilators survive.
"If you were one of the one-third, I suspect you’d be very appreciative that that capability was available," Dennis Carroll, who was an infectious disease expert for the federal government for over a decacde, told USA Today.
Since Tuesday night, Florida's Health Department reported 951 additional COVID-19 cases and 27 deaths. More than half of those deaths were from South Florida.
Now, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state is at 15,698. The death toll is at 323 and 2,082 people are hospitalized with the virus.
The rising numbers and grim realities of the coronavirus crisis have motivated other universities in South Florida to help in different ways.
The University of Miami is offering child care and meal deliveries to healthcare professionals. UM hasn't donated equipment because it's trying to maintain a stockpile of supplies for the patients in the university's health system who may need it.
Barry University is allowing the entire senior class of their Cardiovascular Perfusion Program graduate early. The 17 students will graduate this month and will soon be able to join healthcare professionals out in the field.
-Leslie Ovalle
