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QUICK UPDATES
Florida Adds More Than 5,100 New Cases, 30 New Resident Deaths
Updated Wednesday at 3:15 p.m.
Florida’s Department of Health confirmed an additional 5,143 positive cases of COVID-19 Wednesday. The state has a total of 2,021,656 confirmed positive cases, according to the state's health department.
Wednesday's update also included the announcement of 30 new resident deaths, increasing the statewide number of Floridians who died to 32,850. Factoring in non-resident deaths the number of deaths due to COVID-19 is 33,480.
Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties make up 10,963 of those reported deaths. Monroe County has reported 48 deaths due to COVID-19.
— WLRN News
FIU Announces Return To Classes In Pre-COVID-19 Conditions For Summer, Fall
Updated Wednesday at 6:25 a.m
Florida International University will return to normal, pre-COVID classes this summer, announced Provost and Executive Vice President Kenneth Furton on Tuesday.
For the past year, the largest public university in South Florida has held a significant number of its classes online or with social distancing in person, measures that attempted to curb the spread of the deadly virus.
But now with the vaccinations underway., the school is ready to offer a “robust and safe on-campus experience for students,” wrote Furton in an email sent to the FIU community.
— By Jimena Tavel/ The Miami Herald
Read more from our news partner at The Miami Herald.
Boca Becomes First In Florida To Increase Fines For Littering Masks
Updated Wednesday at 6:20 a.m
If you’re caught throwing down your mask, gloves or other COVID-19 protective equipment in Boca Raton, you could get slapped with a $250 fine.
The city council unanimously passed the new rule on Tuesday, effective immediately.
The ordinance is the first of its kind in Florida. Los Angeles passed a similar ordinance last summer, and a few other cities across the U.S. and in Europe have followed.
— By Austen Erblat and Brooke Baitinger / The South Florida Sun Sentinel
Read more from our news partner at The South Florida Sun Sentinel.
More Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccines Arrive In Florida
Updated Wednesday at 6:18 a.m
Florida has received an unexpected delivery of 42,000 doses of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, boosting the state’s immunization efforts, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday.
The shots will be used to vaccinate homebound seniors and supply walk-up vaccine clinics, such as one held at an African American church in Pensacola.
Officials are closely monitoring supply and demand and hope to open up eligibility to all adults well before President Joe Biden’s target date of May 1, DeSantis said at a news conference in Pensacola.
— By Skyler Swisher / The South Florida Sun Sentinel
Read more from our news partner at The South Florida Sun Sentinel.