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Coronavirus Live Updates: 3,494 New COVID Cases Reported Sunday

Ted S. Warren
/
AP

This post will be updated today, Friday, June 19, and through the weekend with the latest information on COVID-19 in South Florida.

<--break->WLRN staff continues to add to community resource lists, including this articleon where kids and families can get food while schools are closed, and this postabout whether and where to get tested for coronavirus.

WLRN is here for you, even when life is unpredictable. Local journalists are working hard to keep you informed on the latest developments across South Florida. Please support this vital work. Become a WLRN member today. Thank you. 

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

Florida Reports 3,494 COVID Cases On Sunday

Updated Sunday at 12:10 p.m.

Florida added another 3,494 new coronavirus cases on Sunday as the state continues its explosive trend of people testing positive for the disease.

The state now has recorded almost 100,000 people with COVID-19. At the current pace, Florida will almost certainly hit that milestone on Monday.

The latest number of new cases is the third highest daily total since the beginning of the pandemic. But it’s fewer than the highs of 4,049 cases the state reported on Saturday and the 3,822 cases on Friday.

Read more from our news partner the Sun Sentinel

-Anthony Man/Sun Sentinel

Third Record-Breaking Day In A Row As Florida Reports More Than 4,000 Cases Of Covid

Updated Saturday at 11:40 a.m.

Florida just added a record 4,049 new coronavirus cases in a single day, state data released Saturday show continuing a blistering pace of people diagnosed with COVID-19 in the state.

The previous daily mark was 3,822 cases set the previous day. With the latest results, at least 2,000 cases have been added in seven out of the past eight days.

Just a month ago, the state was consistently seeing fewer than 1,000 new cases per day. In fact, on May 20, there were only 527 cases added to the tally.

Overall, 93,797 people have been diagnosed with the coronavirus illness in Florida.

Read more from our news partner the Sun Sentinel

-Marc Freeman/Sun-Sentinel

Florida Doctors Say Masks Should Be Mandatory

Updated Saturday at 10:50 a.m.

The president of the Florida Medical Association on Friday advised local governments to require the use of masks in public as coronavirus cases continue to rise, putting the organization at odds with the governor, who has declined to issue a statewide order on wearing face coverings.

The recommendation by the state’s largest organization of physicians appeared to echo Miami-Dade County’s own policy, which is slightly different but mandates face coverings for customers and employees in businesses across the county, as well as when entering parks and beaches.

The guidelines endorsed by the Florida Medical Association are those of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recommend the use of cloth face coverings in public areas “where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain,” such as grocery stores and pharmacies. The American Medical Association, of which the Florida organization is a chapter, also endorses CDC guidelines on masks in public.

Read more from our news partner the Miami Herald

-Maya Lora & Doug Hanks/Miami Herald

Statewide Coronavirus Cases Approach 90,000 Mark

Updated Friday at 12:20 p.m.

Florida surpassed 89,000 positive cases of COVID-19 as Florida’s Department of Health confirmed an additional 3,822 cases of COVID-19 on Friday. Florida has a total of 89,748 confirmed positive cases, according to the state's health department.

Friday's update also included the announcement of 43 new deaths, increasing the statewide number to 3,104. Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties make up 1,695 of those reported deaths. Monroe County has reported four deaths due to COVID-19. 

-WLRN News

New York Might Tell Floridians To Quarantine

Updated Friday at 7:30 a.m.

People traveling from Florida to New York may soon be required to quarantine upon their arrival in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Thursday.

Cuomo called the move, which he is still mulling, a “full 180,” after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis required people traveling from New York to Florida to quarantine in late March, Sun Sentinel sister paper New York Daily News reported Thursday.

“If you went to Florida, you had to quarantine for two weeks because they were afraid that New Yorkers were bringing the virus to their state,” Cuomo said Thursday, according to the Daily News. “You want to talk about a full 180. Fast forward a 100 days, now we’re afraid they’re bringing the virus to our state.”

Read more at our news partner the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

— Austen Erblat/Sun Sentinel

18 test positive at Florida's largest foster home 

Updated Friday at 7:30 a.m.

Eleven children and seven staff members have tested positive for COVID-19 in Florida’s largest group home for foster children, the facility’s executive director confirmed to the Miami Herald.

His House Children’s Home, a private, nonprofit, faith-based organization based near Miami Gardens, has had a slow but steady increase in reported cases over the past several weeks, after one child first exhibited a 99-degree fever on June 1. The home’s executive director, Silvia Smith-Torres, told the Herald on Wednesday a second child had a 101-degree fever two days later, which prompted staff to take them both to the emergency room.

They both tested positive for COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus. A total of 47 children of the 49 children at His House have been tested so far, according to Esther Jacobo, director of the Citrus Family Care Network, the state-contracted agency that oversees child welfare services in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties.

Read more at our news partner the Miami Herald.

— Bianca Padro Ocasio/Miami Herald

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