This post will be updated today, Wednesday, May 13, 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 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.
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QUICK UPDATES
Statewide Coronavirus Cases Surpass 42,000
Updated Wednesday at 12:30 p.m.
Florida surpassed 42,000 positive cases of COVID-19 as Florida’s Department of Health confirmed an additional 479 cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday morning. Florida has a total of 42,402 confirmed cases.
Wednesday's update also included the announcement of 48 new deaths, increasing the statewide number to 1,827. Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties make up 1,039 of those reported deaths. Monroe County has reported three deaths due to COVID-19.
-WLRN News
Beaches stay shut. But Miami Beach salons, stores to reopen next week
Updated Wednesday at 10:45 a.m.
Beaches will remain closed in Miami Beach until June at the earliest, but the city announced Wednesday that 761 businesses can plan to reopen their doors next week.
City Manager Jimmy Morales said 602 retail stores, 141 barbershops and hair and nail salons, and 18 museums will be given a green light to reopen next Wednesday, two days after Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez said he will reactivate sectors of the economy.
While the city has not received specific guidelines from the county, Morales said his proposed reopening guidelines will be consistent with what the county rolls out.
When restaurants reopen in Miami Beach on May 27, the city may provide additional outdoor seating by closing certain streets, like Ocean Drive and Washington Avenue.
The City Commission will vote Wednesday to extend outdoor seating to public right of ways.
Read more at our news partner, the Miami Herald.
— Martin Vassolo/ Miami Herald
Miami-Dade Considers Sick Pay For Nursing Home Workers To Reduce Outbreaks
Updated Wednesday at 7:30 a.m.
Concerned about hospitals receiving an uptick in coronavirus cases from nursing homes, Miami-Dade County’s mayor may want the county to pay the costs of sick leave for employees from the elder-care facilities who test positive for COVID-19.
At a Tuesday morning staff meeting, Mayor Carlos Gimenez raised the possibility of emergency two-week benefits to the portion of the elder-care workforce that doesn’t receive sick pay and carries the coronavirus, participants in the meeting said.
While there’s hope federal or state dollars could cover the sick pay, Gimenez didn’t rule out local taxpayers footing the bill to encourage testing of workers who could cause outbreaks at places with people most at risk of serious health issues from COVID-19, participants said.
Read more at our news partner the Miami Herald.
-Douglas Hanks / Miami Herald
