Florida now has 14,747 total confirmed cases of the coronavirus as of the latest update from the Florida Department of Health, which is 1,118 more cases than the previous day. The death toll also rose by 42 fatalities, Tuesday, for a total of 296. The South Florida counties of Miami Dade and Broward continue to be the epicenter of the outbreak in Florida. Lee County continues to have the highest number of cases in Southwest Florida with 439 cases including 14 deaths.
Statewide the rate of positive COVID-19 tests results stands at about 11 percent. State officials have recently partnered with private labs around Florida to expand testing capacity.
Gov. Ron DeSantis is slated to hold a press conference on Miami Beach this afternoon with officials from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the City of Miami Beach and Miami-Dade County.
DeSantis is ensuring all hospitals have access to Hydroxychloroquine to be used on patients suffering from COVID-19. The drug is typically used to treat people with malaria and Lupus. It is still being tested to see if it is truly effective in treating coronavirus. DeSantis spoke with doctors, Tuesday, about the drug’s effectiveness. Tallahassee Memorial Hospital physician Carlos Campo says the drug is not without side effects and combining it with other medications can be fatal.
“I would not recommend just starting these as an outpatient because, obviously, patients cannot be monitored,” said Dr. Campo. “And again, the medication itself can put the patient at risk.”
Campo also said practitioners are trying different treatments to help people with COVID-19.
Florida's Democratic Congressional Caucus wants Gov. DeSantis to extend the length of Florida's unemployment benefits, increase the amount paid out and make the process for applying, faster. U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) represents the state’s 23rd Congressional District in Southeast Florida. She said the delegation has sent a letter to DeSantis because all other communication has been cut off.
“We were initially able to talk with Jared Moskowitz on our statewide delegation call. We did have, I think, Director Lawson came on from DEO at one point,” said Wasserman Schultz. “We had to kind of really pressure them hard to get the surgeon general on and he finally came on. Then after that call, the calls stopped.”
DeSantis said, Monday, the state's system was working, but U.S. Rep. Lois Franke (D-FL) says calls she's gotten from her constituents in the state’s 21st Congressional District show otherwise.
DeSantis has said he agrees that people who have attempted to apply for unemployment benefits but were delayed because of issues with the state’s system should not be penalized. He said it makes sense to compensate the starting from the day they lost their jobs. During a media conference, Monday, DeSantis directed Department of Economic Opportunity Executive Director Ken Lawson to look into it.
But Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz said something needs to be done now. “To whatever degree the governor doesn’t think he has the emergency authority, then they need to call the legislature into special session,” said Wasserman Schultz. “Certainly, they need to do that in a way that they can practice social distancing, but if we can do it in Congress, they can do it in the state legislature. This is an emergency.”
Currently more than 500,000 unemployment applications are backed logged in Florida’s system. Lawson says his agency can process around 80,000 claims a week.
Florida’s Attorney General is cracking down on price gouging for supplies meant to stop the spread of COVID-19. That includes protective masks, hand sanitizer, and disinfectant. The agency says it saw third-party sellers on Amazon hiking prices and has issued more than 40 subpoenas. Attorney General Ashley Moody released a video on her YouTube page urging Floridians to report price gouging when they see it. “Our office has secured more than $100,000 in refunds for consumers and issued dozens of subpoenas to further our price gouging investigations,” said Moody.
“We will not relent in these efforts to protect Floridians from gouging and COVID-19 related scams during this unprecedented time of crisis.” There are three ways to report price gouging. People can call 1-866-9NO-SCAM, visit MyFloridaLegal.com, or download a price gouging reporting app called NO SCAM.
During a virtual meeting, Monday, Sarasota city officials addressed a number of coronavirus-related issues including getting information and services to migrant farmworkers and the homeless and the possibility of enacting a curfew. The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports City Commissioner Willie Shaw raised concerns about unauthorized immigrants being sick, but possibly to fearful to seek medical help.
City manager Tom Barwin said he'll address that concern during the next conference call with the county emergency operations center. Barwin also said efforts are being made to have notices available in multiple languages.
Commissioner Shaw also brought up the possibility of opening a hygiene station and mobile kitchen for the homeless near the county fairgrounds. County emergency operations staff initially dismissed that idea, but Sarasota County could be eligible for homeless relief grant funding through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security or CARES Act. In the meantime, the homeless in Sarasota are advised to eat and shower at the Salvation Army.
City Commissioner Hagen Brody also brought up the idea of enacting an overnight curfew, similar to the one that went into effect last Friday in Manatee County.
