Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on October 19
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.
Court win revives Miami-Dade’s COVID-19 curfew in the legal tussle with night clubs
10 p.m. The ongoing fight between Miami-Dade nightlife, especially nudie bar nightlife, and the county government over its COVID-19 curfew took a small swing to the county Monday. An appeals court ruling dropped the curfew curtain again.
Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez said the decision came down too late Monday for enforcement so the midnight to 6 a.m. curfew starts again Tuesday night.
Read the full story here.
Miami-Dade schools’ COVID cases jump to more than 80, at least 50 schools impacted
9 p.m. Confirmed COVID-19 cases among Miami-Dade County public schools students and staff jumped to more than 80 over the weekend, a 75 percent increase in new cases from Friday to Monday, according to the district’s latest information.
United Teachers of Dade, the district’s teachers union, tweeted a statement Monday indicating that the numbers were reaching a point where the district should consider shutting down schools again.
“We need answers — When is the public health great enough to go back to MSO?”
Read the full story here
A Broward poll worker tried to remove maskless voters. Elections chief let them vote
6:40 p.m. Fort Lauderdale police, four voters without masks and the person running the poll at Coral Ridge Mall all came together Monday afternoon during early voting.
Find out what happened by reading the full story here.
TV’s Ana Navarro talks husband’s battle with coronavirus
2:30 p.m.: Al Cardenas is one of the lucky ones.
The local lawyer and lobbyist was able to leave the hospital late Sunday night after a battle with COVID-19.
His wife, “The View” co host Ana Navarro, took video of his exit from the Cleveland Clinic Florida in Weston, where Cardenas, 71, walked out on his own into a waiting car.
Read the full story here.
US colleges see ‘staggering’ drop in freshman enrollment amid COVID-19, report says
2:20 p.m.: Freshman enrollment is down at colleges nationwide, falling a staggering 16% compared to last year, according to a report by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.
While all campuses except four-year, for-profit colleges have seen a dip in registrations, first-year students account for nearly 70% of the total decline in undergraduate enrollment — a drop that has taken researchers by surprise.
“With more data, the downward trends identified in September’s First Look report appear steeper, while also emerging for more states and student groups,” NSCRC’s executive director Doug Shapiro said in a statement. “Most strikingly, freshman students are by far the biggest decline of any group from last year, with a decrease of 16.1% nationally and a 22.7% drop at community colleges in particular.”
Read the full story here.
Tootsies court ruling kills Miami-Dade curfew, but county is fighting to bring it back
2 p.m.: A court victory by the Tootsies strip club killed Miami-Dade’s curfew for the nightlife industry, but county lawyers asked an appeals court to revive the measure before midnight Saturday.
Miami and Miami Beach announced Saturday that local police wouldn’t enforce the curfew after a Friday Circuit Court ruling by Judge Beatrice Butchko that the county’s four-month-old curfew order conflicts with a Sept. 25 decree by Gov. Ron DeSantis restriction local COVID rules.
In the meantime, the mayor of Miami said Saturday that his city will no longer enforce the curfew until it’s clear the countywide order is still legal.
Read the full story here.
COVID-19 death toll hits 16,000 for Florida residents as state reports 1,707 new cases
1 p.m.: Florida’s Department of Health on Monday confirmed 1,707 additional cases of COVID-19 as Johns Hopkins University reported that the world had surpassed 40 million confirmed cases of the disease.
The state now has 756,727 confirmed cases. Also, 54 resident deaths were announced, bringing the resident death toll to 16,021.
There were no new non-resident deaths reported, leaving the non-resident toll at 201.
Mondays can see a lower case count compared to other days in the week because fewer people work in labs and enter data on the weekends. And this Monday is the lowest single-day case count recorded since last Monday, when 1,533 cases were reported.
Florida’s percent positivity for people who tested positive for the first time (excluding retests) saw a slight uptick, increasing from 4.66% to 4.86%.
How safe is it to vote in person during the pandemic in South Florida?
10:30 a.m.: After a summer surge that filled Miami hospitals to near-capacity with COVID patients and forced widespread business closures, South Florida has eased into a relatively quiet fall, with average daily hospital admissions lower than they were in the spring.
The ebbing of the virus, along with the fact that many Florida residents will cast their ballots by mail, means that voting in person should be a relatively low-risk activity as polls open for early voting next week, comparable — or perhaps even safer than — shopping for groceries, several experts told the Miami Herald.
That safety hinges on widespread compliance with mask wearing and physical distancing at polling places, according to Miami infectious disease doctors, who also offered tips voters might not be considering: glasses or goggles for eye protection, for example.
Read the full story here.
Florida voters get up before dawn — and wait — to vote early
10:19 a.m.: A soggy South Florida morning didn’t dampen voter enthusiasm as people arrived Monday at voting centers before dawn — in some cases lining up around the block — to take advantage of the start of early voting in Florida.
From Miami to St. Petersburg, people began posting pictures on social media of lines growing around early voting centers even before polls opened at 7 a.m. In South Florida, where storms are expected to blow through the region during the morning, voters waited in line wearing ponchos — and masks — and holding umbrellas.
At the North Shore Branch Library in Miami Beach, more than 60 people were waiting to vote at about 7:30 a.m. Silvia Rojas, 62, said she waited in line for about an hour to vote for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden after arriving at the North Beach site shortly before it opened at 7 a.m.
Monday is the start of 14 consecutive days of in-person early voting from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, ending Sunday, Nov. 1. In Monroe County, where early voting also began Monday, the hours and days are slightly different: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day until Saturday, Oct. 31. For a complete list of early voting sites in South Florida, click here.
To read the full story, click here.
Do I need to wear a mask to vote? Here are early voting safety rules in South Florida
9:30 a.m.: Is COVID-19 making you think twice about voting in person?
You aren’t alone. Safety is on everyone’s mind.
That’s why you can expect some rules at your polling place as early voting begins Monday and culminates with Election Day, Nov. 3.
“Part of the process of preparing includes safety not only for our voters, but for our poll workers,” said Roberto Rodriguez, spokesman for Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections. “Safety in the COVID 19 atmosphere is paramount during election planning.”
Officials from Miami-Dade, Broward, Monroe and Palm Beach counties say the stepped-up safety measures made for the primary election in August will also be in place for the general election.
In addition to the presidential race between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, the general election includes key local races. Voters will decide congressional races, the Miami-Dade mayor, and the Broward sheriff and supervisor of elections. Municipalities across Miami-Dade, Broward and the Keys also have local elections for commission seats and charter changes. charter. Florida voters will also have to say on six constitutional amendments.
But there are rules you need to know before you head to the polls. These rules include masks, social distancing and the choice to bring your own pen if you want to.
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 Monday begins.
▪ Ahead of early voting, dueling campaign caravans parade through Miami-Dade County
▪ Florida adds 2,539 COVID-19 cases, pushing total past 755,000, and 50 new deaths
▪ Military study finds airline passengers unlikely to spread COVID if they wear a mask
▪ COVID-19 cases creep up in Broward schools
▪ Miami-Dade schools have seen almost 60 COVID-19 cases since in-person learning began
