State health officials reported 1,838 new COVID-19 cases, Monday, bringing Florida's total to 648,269 cases.
Sept. 7 marked the lowest single-day increase in reported new infections in Florida since June 15, but whether the Labor Day holiday weekend will result in a surge in new infections, as the state experienced about a week after the July 4th holiday, remains to be seen.
The Florida Department of Health also reported 22 new coronavirus-related deaths, Monday, bringing the statewide death toll to 12,023 fatalities since the beginning of the pandemic.
Of the 4,808,756 COVID-19 tests that have been reported in Florida so far, the overall positivity rate remains relatively unchanged at 13.48%.
The number of coronavirus-related hospitalizations in Florida since the beginning of the pandemic now stands at 40,083 patients.
Here in the Southwest Florida region including Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry, Lee, Manatee and Sarasota Counties, state health officials have reported a total of 54,581 coronavirus cases and 1,264 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
As hurricane season heads toward its historic peak this week, a new study warns that evacuations could spread COVID-19 in Florida.
“We used data from Hurricane Irma to say, OK, where would people go from those counties and how many of them would go to each county?” said Kristy Dahl, a senior climate scientist with the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Dahl and other researchers from the Union and Columbia University assumed 2.3 million people would evacuate.
The team estimated the number of coronavirus cases would rise by 60,000. That’s based on the safety precautions – like mask orders and business closings – in the places where people sought shelter from Irma.
“But we also found that we can minimize the size of that increase by directing evacuees to counties that have lower virus transmission rates,” said Dahl.
“Now, in reality, that may not be practical, right? People tend to follow their hurricane evacuation routes or go to where their families are.”
Dahl says if evacuees also wear face masks, practice social distancing and limit their interactions, the increase in cases could be limited to just 9,000.
The study has not yet been peer-reviewed and was published last month by medRxiv , a website for preprint medical papers.
Gov. Ron DeSantis is backing Visit Florida's decision to encourage in-state tourism. The agency is hoping its new marketing campaign will boost local economies hit hard by the coronavirus.
Tarpon Springs is a city located on Florida's gulf coast. Known for its sponge docks and Greek cuisine, the community relies heavily on tourism.
"We were in a great economy here in Tarpon Springs. But during the lockdown, it's just like every other place, [the] economy was [a] standstill," Tarpon Springs Mayor Chris Alahouzos says.
The city has always depended on out of state tourism, but now there are more in-state visitors.
"They're coming from different places, anywhere from the southern side of Venice, all the way up to Crystal Beach, and Lakeland, Winter Haven, all of these—even from Orlando they're coming down to Tarpon," Alahouzos says.
Visit Florida markets tourism for the state. Its CEO Dana Young says her group sees data that suggests more people are willing to travel close to home.
"We made a decision to start our tourism marketing toward our Florida residents and just encouraging them to take staycations or short road trips," Young says.
Young explains that's not something Visit Florida typically does. She says usually her group focuses on bringing out-of-state and international tourists into Florida. Rolando Aedo is with the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau. He says in-state tourism is needed to get the local economy back on its feet.
"This year more than ever because of a lot of the travel restrictions and airline restrictions—targeting local tourists and tourists in the drive markets has been the foundation of our recovery strategy here in Miami," Aedo says.
But he says in-state tourism is only a short-term solution. For long-term sustainability, the city has to lure back international and out-of-state travelers.
"Especially a destination like Miami, [it] gets 30% to 40% of its business from international visitors, and international visitors, they stay longer, and they spend a lot more," Aedo says.
He says as soon as flight restrictions lift, his group plans to focus on bringing international travelers into Miami. As for Visit Florida, Young says it plans to start marketing to out-of-state people in a few weeks.
Federal funding for payroll protection and extra unemployment benefits has expired, but some CARES Act money is just starting to be distributed to small businesses in the Keys.
Monroe County expects to receive $13 million in CARES Act money to help with expenses and losses from the pandemic. However, only 3.25 million has been disbursed from the state so far.
The county is using $1 million of that to help out small businesses with up to 25 employees. They can apply for grants of up to $7,500, depending on how many employees they have.
The money cannot be used for any expense that already received federal help, like the paycheck protection program.
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