Coronavirus Live Updates: South Florida Recreational Facilities Set To Reopen — With Restrictions

This post will be updated today, Monday, April 27, with the latest information on COVID-19 in South Florida.

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.

The dedicated website for the Florida Department of Health, including information about symptoms and 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

South Florida Recreational Facilities Set To Reopen — With Restrictions

Updated Monday at 4:45 p.m.

The three South Florida counties are reopening recreational facilities — with limits — starting this week. The Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade county mayors held simultaneous announcements about the plans Monday afternoon.

Broward Mayor Dale Holness said it is collaborative effort. “We are doing the same thing.”

Golf courses, boat ramps, marinas, and pools in multifamily developments will be allowed to open, Holness said. Beaches are not yet opening. In Broward, some but not all pools in county parks will be opened, he said.

The openings in all three counties go into effect Wednesday.
 
Read more at our news partner the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Key West Opens Parks, Beaches

Updated Monday at 12:05 p.m.

The city of Key West opened its parks, beaches and recreational facilities on Monday. Playgrounds and water features are still closed.

"Residents are encouraged to responsibly distance themselves from each other while spending time outside their homes," City Manager Greg Veliz wrote in a letter released Monday.

The city is watching when Gov. Ron DeSantis lifts the statewide stay-at-home order.

"We anticipate that we will soon have the ability to lift the closure of non-essential businesses. These businesses and their customers should expect all the protective measures currently in place at essential businesses, such as masks and enhanced sanitation, will also be necessary," Veliz wrote.

The city "wholeheartedly" supports the checkpoint at the Miami-Dade County line that allows only residents, property owners and essential workers to drive into the Keys, Veliz wrote.

-Nancy Klingener

Florida Coronavirus Cases Push Past 32,000 And Death Toll Increases To 1,088

Florida’s Department of Health on Monday morning confirmed 610 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the state total of confirmed cases to 32,138. There were 14 new deaths announced since Sunday morning, bringing the statewide death toll to 1,088.

Six of the deaths were in South Florida, according to Florida’s COVID-19 Data and Surveillance Dashboard. One person died in Miami-Dade, four in Broward and one in Palm Beach County.

Of the statewide total of confirmed cases, 31,290 are Florida residents and 848 are non-residents who were diagnosed or isolated in the state.

Read more at our news partner the Miami Herald.

Miami-Dade To Open First COVID-19 Walk-Up Testing Site For Those Without A Car On Tuesday
 
Updated Monday at 10 a.m.

The first COVID-19 walk-up testing site in Miami-Dade is expected to open Tuesday for people who don't have access to a car. Over the weekend, officials announced that the testing site will open at the Holy Family Catholic Church in North Miami. 

Testing is available for anyone with symptoms associated with the new coronavirus or anyone who believes they have been in contact with someone who tested positive.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez said on a video address on Sunday that other walk-up testing sites are in the works.“We’re also looking to expand walk-up testing sites at other county locations for those folks who don’t have a car,” he said.

The new site in North Miami will be open Mondays through Saturday starting at 9 a.m. and closing at 4 p.m. Appointments are required to get tested. To schedule a visit you can call 305-499-8767.

-Leslie Ovalle

South Florida School Districts Limit Food Distribution To Once Or Twice Weekly

Updated Monday at 9:30 a.m.

South Florida school districts have handed out millions of meals to families since campuses closed in mid-March, and the demand continues to grow.

But now, the region’s three large districts are changing how they’re distributing the food. Instead of holding the meal distributions every day, Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties are shifting to just one or two days a week — and giving out enough breakfasts, lunches and snacks to last kids until the next distribution.

Up until now, Broward County Public Schools had been offering breakfasts and lunches every weekday at most of the district’s 51 food distribution locations. Starting Monday, the district will hand out meals from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays. Families will be able to receive grab-and-go meals for multiple days. See the list of locations here.

Broward superintendent Robert Runcie said handing out more meals at a time on fewer days is a “win-win.”

“It's a win for parents: That's less trips they can make,” Runcie told WLRN. “And for food services staff, those are less days that they would need to … be delivering food to the public.”

This week, the School District of Palm Beach County is continuing its gradual transition to eventually handing out food on only one day each week.

Last week, the district operated food service on three days. This week, the district is doing two days: Tuesday at 35 sites and Thursday at 51 sites. Both days, the locations will be open from 9 a.m. to noon.

Starting the first week of May, the district will offer meals at all 51 sites from 9 a.m. to noon only on Thursdays until further notice. Parents will be able to pick up 12 meals for each child: breakfast and lunch for six days.

Miami-Dade County Public Schools was the first to make the change, shifting last week to a schedule of Tuesday and Friday meal distributions. The district’s 50 feeding locations are open from 4 to 7 p.m. on those days.

WLRN is continuously updating our post on where to find free food during the pandemic.

—Jessica Bakeman

Gov. DeSantis To Reopen Hospitals For Non-COVID-19 Patients Soon

Updated Monday at 7 a.m.

Patients ignored chest pain for days only to arrive at the hospital in cardiac arrest. Other patients ignored seizures until their situation became more severe. And a study by the Cleveland Clinic found a 38% decrease in patients presenting to the hospital with stroke and heart attack symptoms since onset of the pandemic.

As the fear of being exposed to the novel coronavirus consumed the public, it also kept people away from seeking critical medical attention, several doctors told Gov. Ron DeSantis this weekend during two visits to hospitals.

“It’s time for the community to understand — and the numbers support this — it’s time to come back and get your healthcare,’’ said George Ralls, chief quality officer for Orlando Health during a press conference with DeSantis on Sunday. “There are many cases that we have seen come into the emergency departments that were much, much worse than they would have been had they come in a few days before.”

DeSantis signaled this weekend he will be announcing an end to the ban on elective procedures at hospitals and outpatient clinics, noting that the fear that hospitals would be overwhelmed by patients with COVID-19 had subsided.

Read more at our news partner the Miami Herald.

-Mary Ellen Klas / Miami Herald