This post will be updated today, Wednesday, June 10, 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 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.
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QUICK UPDATES
Palm Beach County Offers Rent and Utilities Assistance
Updated Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.
Palm Beach County’s community services department is offering one-time rent and utility assistance to residents affected by COVID-19.
The CARES Act Rent and Utilities Assistance Program is limited to people who have experienced unemployment, reduction of hours or loss of income.
The program provides assistance for past-due rent and/or utilities that were due after March 1, 2020 and before December 30, 2020. People must submit their application through the CSD’s online portal.
— Wilkine Brutus /WLRN News
Statewide Coronavirus Cases Reach 67,000 Mark
Updated Wednesday at 1 p.m.
Florida surpassed 67,000 positive cases of COVID-19 as Florida’s Department of Health confirmed an additional 1,371 cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday. Florida has a total of 67,371 confirmed positive cases, according to the state's health department.
Wednesday's update also included the announcement of 36 new deaths, increasing the statewide number to 2,801. Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties make up 1,530 of those reported deaths. Monroe County has reported five deaths due to COVID-19.
— WLRN News
School Districts Change Food Distribution Schedules For Summer
Updated Wednesday at 11 a.m.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools has served more than four million meals to families while schools have been closed because of COVID-19, and the district plans to continue the food distributions over the summer — but in a new time slot.
Starting this week, the district will be offering multiple days’ worth of grab-and-go meals for students and their families from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays at 50 schools. Previously, the pick-up times were 4 to 7 p.m. on those days.
The Miami Dolphins are helping out in the effort to feed families while schools remain closed. The football team announced yesterday its commitment to providing 500 chilled to-go meals every week for a year at schools near the team's Miami Gardens stadium.
Other South Florida school districts have also adjusted schedules for the summer.
Broward County Public Schools shifted to a once-a-week distribution for the summer, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesdays at 49 schools.
In Palm Beach County, meals will be available from 9 a.m. to noon on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 52 sites.
The school district in the Florida Keys has offered both pick-up and distribution via school buses. That will continue through the summer. More information is here.
WLRN is regularly updating our guide to finding free food during the pandemic.
—Jessica Bakeman/WLRN News
State Juvenile Cases Rise
Updated Wednesday at 7:30 a.m.
The number of youths in Florida’s juvenile-justice system who have tested positive for COVID-19 jumped to 73 on Tuesday, up from 47 a week earlier, according to the Department of Juvenile Justice. Also, the number of infected juvenile-justice workers increased from 50 to 62.
Palm Beach Youth Academy has had the most cases, with 21 youths and 10 employees testing positive, the department said in a news release. Okeechobee Youth Development Center has had the next-highest total, with 16 infected youths and five infected workers. Broward Regional Juvenile Detention Center has had 12 employee cases and four youth cases.
Of the 73 youths who have tested positive throughout the system, 16 are no longer in medical isolation, the department said. Of the 62 workers who have tested positive, 20 have been cleared to return to work.
“DJJ continues to work with local health departments and in the case of residential commitment programs, the private contracted providers, regarding the need to test additional youth and staff following the first report of a positive test,” the department said in the news release.
— News Service of Florida