Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on September 24
We’re keeping track of the latest news regarding the coronavirus in South Florida and around the state. Check back for updates throughout the day.
Florida adds 2,541 COVID-19 cases and nearly 200 deaths. Positivity rate dips below 5%
1:13 p.m.: Florida’s Department of Health on Thursday confirmed 2,541 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the state’s known total to 693,040. Also, 177 Florida resident deaths were announced, bringing the resident death toll to 13,795.
Two new non-resident deaths were also announced, bringing the non-resident toll to 166, according to Florida’s COVID-19 Data and Surveillance Dashboard.
On Thursday, the Florida Department of Health reported that the statewide positivity rate for people who tested positive for the first time Wednesday dipped below 5% again and is now at 4.45%. The rate had risen above 5% in the previous two days.
Learn more here.
Miami ALF shut down for breaking COVID-19 rules and endangering residents, state says
10 a.m.: A small assisted living facility in Southwest Miami-Dade was ordered to shut down this week over several COVID-19 violations, including failing to properly care for residents with symptoms and allowing people who tested positive to enter.
The 24-hour, six-bed ALF at 5111 SW 112th Ave. was licensed to Kevin’s ALF Corp. The for-profit corporation is registered to Zairys Garit, who is also listed as its president, according to records from the Florida Department of State’s Division of Corporations.
Inspectors with Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration, which oversees assisted living facilities, visited the ALF last Wednesday to conduct a survey. The emergency order was signed and filed in Tallahassee Monday by the agency secretary.
State inspectors said that three of the ALF’s residents had died within the past five weeks. At least one of them had tested positive for COVID-19 during an autopsy by the Medical Examiner’s Office.
One of the other residents who died had experienced possible COVID-19 symptoms previously, including coughing and a four-day fever. The facility had no record of seeking medical attention for the resident, according to the emergency order.
Read the full story here.
Using your ‘indoor voice’ can reduce COVID spread
9:30 a.m.: Listen, loud Miami talkers and habitual shouters. Shut up or quiet down and don’t be super spreaders of the coronavirus.
Scientists have found that speaking softly cuts the exhaled spray of contaminated particles into the air and reduces the risk of transmission of highly contagious COVID-19 by 80 percent — and can even prevent infection as effectively as wearing a mask.
In Miami, notorious for its noisy narrators, experts say turning down the volume could save lives. Talk as if you’re in a library: Add the habit to public health guidelines that include wash hands frequently, practice social distancing and wear a snug face covering, urge experts who have studied the pathways of microscopic disease-laden aerosols sucked into nostrils, throats and lungs.
Simple in theory, but this is South Florida — Babel, U.S.A.
“Good luck with that in Miami,” said Tony Moya as he departed Cafe Versailles with takeout coffee. “I’m guilty, I’m a loudmouth, I’m Cuban. It’s part of the culture here where 70 percent of the population is Latin, which makes it a city of loud people.”
Read the full story here.
CATCH UP TO START THE DAY
9:30 a.m.: Here are the coronavirus headlines to catch you up on what’s happening around South Florida and the state as Thursday begins.
▪ Miami School Board votes for later soft school opening Oct. 14, full opening Oct. 21
▪ Florida adds more than 200 COVID-19 deaths, pushing statewide toll past 13,600
▪ Worried about going to the movies? You can rent this entire theater in Miami for $99
