This post will be updated today, Thursday, July 30, and through the week 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
Students Need School Supplies At Home, Too. Local Foundation Raises Money To Equip Kids For Virtual Learning
Updated Thursday at 2:25 p.m.
The Broward Education Foundation usually collects donations of school supplies and delivers them right to campuses. This year, the nonprofit is asking for monetary contributions to purchase supplies for individual children.
“We'll be providing all the different school supplies that they'll need: markers, pens, notepads, papers, pencils — things that they'll still need to complete their work, even though they're working virtually,” said Dustin Jacobs, a foundation board member who is also vice president of marketing for BrightStart Credit Union, the fundraiser’s main sponsor.
“Typically the teachers or the schools would come and pick out the supplies. This year, we're providing packages,” Jacobs said.
The foundation’s hope is to provide a basic 18-piece supply kit to every student in the county’s 112 Title I schools. A donation of $10 equips one student, and $250 buys supplies for a full class.
The virtual back-to-school drive will help meet the growing needs of families impacted financially by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has reached new heights in South Florida as a new school year is set to begin. Broward County Public Schools, along with the region’s other districts, plan to begin fully online in order to prevent further spread of the virus.
The fundraiser continues through Aug. 21. Donate here.
— Jessica Bakeman/WLRN News
Florida COVID-19 Cases Increase By 9,956, Deaths Increase By 253
Updated Thursday at 10:45 a.m.
The Florida Department of Health confirmed an additional 9,956 cases on Thursday. The state has a total of 461,379 confirmed positive cases, according to the state's health department.
Thursday's update included 253 new deaths among Florida residents, the highest one-day increase recorded so far and beating Wednesday’s record of 216. The statewide number of deaths increased to 6,586.
Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach County make up 2,997 of the reported deaths. Monroe County has 6 reported deaths due to COVID-19.
-WLRN News
Gov. DeSantis Extends Ban On Evictions, Foreclosures Until September 1
Updated on Thursday at 6:15 a.m.
Foreclosure and eviction deadlines have again been pushed back, giving Floridians who have been impacted by the novel coronavirus pandemic a little time to pay their housing bills.
For the fourth time since the ban was first signed in April, Gov. Ron DeSantis has extended an executive order that prevents foreclosures and evictions. The deadline has been delayed to 12:01 a.m. on Sept. 1, the order said.
DeSantis had until July 31 to make a decision on whether to change the foreclosure and eviction deadline; that was when the third extension, implemented on June 30, was supposed to end.
To read more, visit our news partner at the Miami Herald.
- Devoun Cetoute and Carli Teproff/Miami Herald
Broward County Curfew Extended
Updated on Thursday at 6:15 a.m.
Broward County’s nighttime curfew will be extended as Florida continues to battle a record-breaking increase in COVID-19 deaths. But residents will no longer be responsible for making sure their guests wear masks.
The changes came in an order signed Wednesday by County Administrator Bertha Henry. It extends the county’s curfew — from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. daily — through at least Monday.
The curfew, imposed 2½ weeks ago, was set to expire Saturday. Broward Mayor Dale Holness said it could be extended further, but there is no consensus among county leaders on how long to extend it
To read more, visit our news partner at the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
- Lisa J. Huriash and Angie DiMichele/Sun Sentinel
Palm Beach County Raises Fines For COVID-19 Violators
Updated on Thursday at 6:15 a.m.
Targeting the businesses that flout Palm Beach County’s pandemic rules, violators may face harsher fines or even jail time.
County commissioners updated the county’s emergency management code to make violating such a rule a second-degree misdemeanor. Civil citations can now be issued up to $250 for the first offense and $500 for each subsequent violation, but those fines are halved if the business accepts the citation without challenge.
If a special magistrate gets involved, fines can be issued for up to $1,000 per day for the first violation, up to $5,000 per day for each subsequent violation and up to $15,000 if the violation is deemed “irreparable or irreversible in nature,” meaning it “imperials or threatens to imperil the life, safety or welfare of another.”
To read more, visit our news partner at the Palm Beach Post.
- Hannah Morse/Palm Beach Post
