Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on June 21
We’re keeping track of the latest news regarding the coronavirus in South Florida and around the state.
Check back for updates on COVID-19 throughout the day.
DESANTIS SAYS STATE STILL HAS PLENTY OF HOSPITAL BEDS
3:15 p.m.: Even though case counts of COVID-19 continue to increase across Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis has pushed back against notions the state could be the next epicenter for the coronavirus. On Friday, the governor asserted Florida still has plenty of hospital beds available as the median age of those testing positive has dropped to 37 for June, DeSantis said.
Still, hospitalizations have trended upward in the last few weeks and public health experts worry hospital capacity could become an issue down the road if the virus continues to spread unchecked.
“While it’s good that the hospitals feel like they have the bed capacity to cope with a surge of cases right now, I worry that this capacity is going to be tested over the coming weeks if COVID-19 spread continues unchecked,” Dr. Yonatan Grad, a physician and professor of immunology and infectious diseases at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said in an email.
Read the full story here.
SOUTH FLORIDA YOUTH’S SYMPHONY ADJUSTS TO VIRTUAL WORLD
2:15 p.m.: The South Florida Youth Symphony was supposed to fly to South American in March to spend a week performing in Argentina and Uruguay. Less than two weeks before the trip, the COVID-19 outbreak began. The Youth Symphony quickly had to learn how to operate in a new socially distant world.
The adjustments have been similar to the ones many people have used. The orchestra has fallen in love with Zoom Video Communications to continue rehearsing as a group, and it has even taken to hosting virtual concerts on YouTube and Facebook. Another is coming later this week and a third will follow in July.
Read the full story here.
FLORIDA’S UPDATED CASE NUMBERS
1:15 p.m.: Florida’s Department of Health on Sunday confirmed 3,494 additional cases of COVID-19, the highest Sunday total since the coronavirus pandemic began. It brings he state’s total case count up to 97,291 cases. There were also 17 new deaths announced, raising the statewide toll to 3,161.
The Sunday case numbers typically run a bit lower than other days of the week.
Miami-Dade County reported 710 new cases of the virus and 10 new deaths, and Broward County reported 318 cases in three deaths. Palm Beach County reported 248 new cases and Monroe County reported four, and neither of the South Florida two counties had any deaths.
The increase in cases is due in part to increased testing, but the percentage of positive tests has also climbed in the last two weeks. Hospitalizations also continue to tick up as the state announced 98 more hospitalized Sunday. As of Saturday, 677 were hospitalized across the state, an increase of 28 from the previous day and the eighth straight day hospitalizations increased.
Read the full story here.
MIAMI SEAQUARIUM REOPENS
12:15 p.m.: After more than three months closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Miami Seaquarium reopened its doors to the public Saturday.
Like the theme parks across Florida, the Seaquarium is taking an abundance of precautions to combat the coronavirus. Face coverings and temperature checks are required, and the Seaquarium will run at reduced capacity with hand sanitizer stations placed throughout the park.
Read the full story here.
DESANTIS TRIES TO REASSURE FLORIDIANS AS CASES SPIKE
11:15 a.m.: Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a rare Saturday news conference to reassure Floridians about rising cases of COVID-19 in the state, saying that the “vast majority” of new cases are from young people who don’t have symptoms of the disease.
The governor pointed to low hospitalization rates, increased testing and the median age of a person with COVID-19, which fell to 37 last week. Early in the pandemic, he noted, only people with symptoms could be tested.
Still, DeSantis’ address came on the same day the Florida Department of Health reported a record 4,049 new cases of the coronavirus.
Read the full story here.
COVID-19 Cases in Florida
‘GRIM REAPER’ VISITS TRUMP NATIONAL DORAL MIAMI
10:15 a.m.: Florida lawyer Daniel W. Uhlfelder, who has gained a reputation throughout the COVID-19 pandemic for showing up in various places dressed as the Grim Reaper, continued his “Grim Reaper Tour” on Saturday in South Florida. With cases of the coronavirus climbing across Florida, Uhlfelder stopped by Trump National Doral Miami, a golf resort owned by President Donald Trump, hoping to get leaders and people in general to take the danger of the virus seriously.
Uhlfelder said he believes leaders ignored the call to action. He’s also angered by the failure to help small business owners and the unemployed amid the pandemic.
Read the full story here.
FDA ISSUES WARNING ABOUT 9 HAND SANITIZERS
9:45 a.m.: Hand sanitizer was one of the hardest-to-find products throughout the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning nine hand sanitizers, all made by Mexican company EskBiochem S.A. de C.V., might be toxic because they contain methanol.
On Wednesday, the FDA recommended EskBiochem recall the nine sanitizers. After the company didn’t, the FDA issued a warning about the nine brands: All-Clean Hand Sanitizer, Saniderm Advanced Hand Sanitizer, Esk Biochem Hand Sanitizer, CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand Sanitizer 75% Alcohol, Lavar 70 Gel Hand Sanitizer, The Good Gel Antibacterial Gel Hand Sanitizer and CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand Sanitizer 80% Alcohol.
Read the full story here.
CATCH UP TO START THE DAY
9 a.m.: Here are the coronavirus headlines to catch you up on what’s happening around South Florida and the state as Sunday begins:
▪ Florida’s Department of Health on Saturday confirmed 4,049 additional cases of COVID-19, continuing a record-breaking streak for the most new cases reported in a day. The state now has a total of 93,797 confirmed cases.
▪ As Florida reported another record day of new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Friday, with 3,822, Gov. Ron DeSantis pushed back against suggestions that the state may become the next epicenter of the nation’s coronavirus pandemic and that it’s quickly running out of hospital beds to care for patients.
▪ Miami-Dade County closed three restaurants for violating COVID-19 safety guidelines and the owners could face jail time.
▪ Miami Mayor Francis X. Suarez, meanwhile, dined Thursday at Swan, one of the restaurants closed because of the violations. On Monday, the mayor held a press conference to “sound to alarms” and “reiterate” the importance of social distancing and wearing facial coverings.
▪ 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 Shark Valley Visitor Center at Everglades National Park will be slowly reopening. The center opened on June 1, but now bikes can be rented again and the tram has been reopened.
▪ Cruise Lines International Association, the cruise industry lobbying group, announced Friday its member lines — including South Florida-based Carnival Corporation, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, MSC Cruises and Virgin Voyages — will cancel United States cruises though mid-September.
▪ In Miami-Dade County, $10 million in rent relief was ready to go, but now it’s on hold until July after a County Commission showdown.
▪ When Eric Bihl and Kennon Jones quit their jobs, bought a boat and set sail in 2018 to circumnavigate the globe, they expected to hit a few hurdles. They did not expect a pandemic.
