State health officials reported 610 new positive cases of COVID-19, Monday, bringing Florida's total to 32,138 cases. The Florida Department of Health's latest update includes 14 new deaths, bringing the number of coronavirus-related fatalities to 1,088. The number of deaths in long-term care facilities like nursing homes has increased to 319.
The number of hospitalizations has now topped 5,000 patients. Of the more than 357,000 tests that have been performed in Florida so far, 9% have been positive.
In Southwest Florida, Lee County has the highest number of confirmed cases of the virus with 971 cases and 37 deaths. In the Southwest Florida region, Manatee County has the highest number of deaths with 42 fatalities, despite having fewer total cases than Lee and Collier Counties.
State and local officials are trying to get the word out to the public that anyone who wants a coronavirus test can get one now. Restrictions about symptoms and travel history have now been lifted.
Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state has enough supplies to test more people and is continuing to expand capacity. He's encouraging people to get tested even if they don't have symptoms because they could still be carrying the virus.
"We think it’s important not only for individual’s health to know whether they're positive or not, but also for professionals to understand the prevalence of this throughout the community,” said DeSantis.
Dr. Charles Lockwood with USF Health said in order to safely reopen the state health officials need to test 150 people per day for every 100,000 people in the community. "We're testing between 500 and 1000 so we need to test a lot more folks,” said Dr. Lockwood.
Some privately-run testing sites may still have stricter requirements.
Gov. DeSantis said Monday that he supports releasing more information about COVID-19 illnesses and deaths at nursing homes.
Last week, the state began releasing the names of long-term care facilities with positive COVID-19 cases, but information about how many cases and deaths have occurred at each facility was not provided. During a press conference at Tampa General Hospital, Monday, DeSantis said he will look at what type of information is being released.
DeSantis said long-term care facilities in Florida are required to inform patients and their families about positive COVID-19 cases at their facilities. However, some families have complained about not getting information about the number of cases and deaths.
Florida Democrats said, Monday, they’ll ask the U.S. Government Accountability Office to investigate the state’s flawed unemployment system. U.S. Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) said the federal government has sent money to Florida to address unemployment in the wake of the coronavirus. So, it needs to know why the system is not working.
“This is a system that has been broken for many years. That the governor had an opportunity over the last two years to fix proactively. And now we can see what happens when you leave something that is so wholly inadequate,” said Wasserman Schultz.
She was joined by fellow Democratic U.S. Representatives Kathy Castor, Charlie Crist and State Senator Jose Javier Rodriguez, (D-Miami). They also want the state’s $275 a week benefits increased and extended from 12 weeks to 26 weeks.
Rodriguez said benefits are based on the previous year’s unemployment rate. He said that makes no sense amid the current shutdown. “What we're asking for is, ‘Hey governor just by executive order, why don’t you speed that up? Correct the design flaw.’”
They say Florida has the largest unemployment backlog of any state in the country. Unemployment benefits in Florida are also among the lowest.
Gov. DeSantis said Florida's reopening from the coronavirus economic shutdown will be in incremental "baby steps." DeSantis says different regions of the state could reopen at different times and rates. On Monday, DeSantis said the first phase of the reopening will not be much different for most people from what they are experiencing now regarding schools and nonessential businesses closed and being encouraged to stay home.
The AP reports, DeSantis is expected to begin laying out his reopening plans this week as he reviews recommendations from members of the Reopen Florida Task Force.
Fort Myers Beach is partially reopening, only for island residents, Tuesday, April 28. The Fort Myers Beach Town Council approved the limited reopening, Monday.
Current social distancing guidelines still apply and the use of masks is required. Parking lot closures remain in effect, but island residents will be able to use town-owned pedestrian beach access points.
The approved motion does not permit sitting or sunbathing, nor does it allow people to bring beach paraphernalia like chairs and towels. Swimming is also prohibited, but Fort Myers Beach residents will be allowed to walk, run or bike on public portions of the beach from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.
The News-Press reports, the town council is also allowing reservations to begin being taken on May 15th for accommodations on the beach like houses, hotels and other units. That decision is in effect only if Governor Ron DeSantis does not extend the state order banning vacation rentals. The current order is set to expire Thursday.
Fort Myers Beach town councilors plan to consider allowing restaurants to reopen during a special meeting Friday morning.
Sanibel Island City Council members decided Monday to delay any steps toward reopening portions of the economy. Council members said they'll wait for further direction from Lee County officials and Gov. DeSantis.
The Sanibel city council will hold another special meeting Wednesday afternoon. In late March, Sanibel officials placed a ban on accommodation rentals of any kind. That ban is set to expire Thursday.
Collier County Commissioners are meeting April 28 to discuss the possibility of allowing residents back on county beaches that have closed amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Naples Daily News reports, commissioners will also consider creating a committee to deal with reopening the economy.
Meanwhile, city officials in Marco Island plan to hold a special meeting, Wednesday morning, to explore how the city will approach reopening.
Hundreds of residents of Charlotte and Sarasota Counties flocked to the beach, Monday, for the first day people were allowed back on the beach in more than a month.
Last week, Sarasota County officials decided to open beaches, yesterday to walkers, joggers, swimmers and paddlers. The Herald Tribune reports parking lots remain closed in an effort to prevent large crowds. Sarasota County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Kaitlyn Perez says overall, there were no major issues Monday.
In the city of Sarasota, Lido Beach remains closed.
Meanwhile Monday also marked the first day people were allowed back on beaches in Charlotte County. Unlike other Southwest Florida beach reopenings, Englewood and Port Charlotte beaches are open without restrictions. Parking meters at both those beaches have been disabled.
Charlotte County communications director Brian Gleason said that while the beaches were busy, Monday, there were no reported incidents and most people observed social distancing.
