Name: Florida coronavirus update for Monday: DeSantis starts probe into troubled unemployment system; residents begin ‘Phase 1’ of reopening
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Florida coronavirus update for Monday: DeSantis starts probe into troubled unemployment system; residents begin ‘Phase 1’ of reopening

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AdvertisementBy Orlando SentinelMay 04, 2020 at 7:55 pmAs most of Florida began the first step of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ reopening plan, the state endured its third straight week of at least 300 reported deaths.Also on Monday, DeSantis inspector general to investigate the state’s beleaguered unemployment system.Advertisement“This thing wasn’t going to cut it,” he said of the system, which has been plagued by bottlenecks and technology problems and has processed less than half of the tens of thousands of claims since the outbreak began in March.At one point in mid-April, it was processing just 4% of claims.AdvertisementThe investigation will delve into contracts awarded to create the $77 million system under former Gov. Rick Scott in 2011.“All this money was spent on this system when it clearly did not have the capacity for anything above 3% to 4% unemployment, even a mild recession,” DeSantis said. “That’s not a good use of taxpayer money.”Looking at week-over-week data, Florida saw 305 reported deaths from Sunday to Sunday. Monday’s update from the Florida Department of Health added another 20 reported deaths so the toll stands at 1,399.Positive cases of COVID-19, though, saw a fourth straight week of decline with 4,550 new cases in the last seven days. Monday added another 819 cases so the total comes to 36,897.The U.S. is approaching 1.2 million cases with over 68,000 deaths. Worldwide, nearly 250,000 people have died out of over 3.5 million cases, according to the .President Trump in a said the nation could see up to 100,000 deaths still.“We’re going to lose anywhere from 75, 80 to 100,000 people,” the president said in the virtual “town hall” meeting on Fox News. “That’s a horrible thing. We shouldn’t lose one person over this.” But he credited himself with preventing the toll from being worse. “If we didn’t do it, the minimum we would have lost was a million two, a million four, a million five, that’s the minimum. We would have lost probably higher, it’s possible higher than 2.2” million.More than 1,000 additional deaths have been announced every day since April 2 and while the rate appears to have peaked, it has not begun to fall in a significant, sustained way. The model embraced by the White House a month ago had assumed the death rate would begin to fall substantially by mid-April.AdvertisementStill, several states not has hard hit have pushed to reopen, including Florida, which surpassed 1 million confirmed unemployment claims by Monday. To date, only 42% of claims have been paid out.Monday marked the first day under “Phase 1” of DeSantis’ reopening plan for the state, with all but the three South Florida counties of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach, reopening retailers, restaurants and some state parks, although all with social distancing requirements and capacity restrictions.In Central Florida, residents stepped out to enjoy to customers.Orlando resident Brian Verner, who took his 1-year-old son, James, to Green Springs Park in Volusia County before stopping in at Hollerbach’s Willow Tree Café in downtown Sanford."I’ve been cooped up with him for six weeks,” the 34-year-old said. “My wife works, she’s working all the time from home, so [I’m] just trying to give her a break and get out.”What remains closed statewide, though, are salons, barbers, spas and other personal care businesses, with DeSantis not giving a clear timetable for those operations to reopen.Advertisement urging DeSantis to allow the reopening of hair and nail salons as the state begins to ease restrictions meant to combat the coronavirus.As most of the state learns how to get back to some semblance of normal life, Gov. DeSantis also said the state has received its first shipment of 200,000 coronavirus antibody tests, which he said will be distributed to hospitals to test health care workers, to some drive-through testing sites and possibly to walk-up sites. He also said the state will roll out mobile testing inside an RV, which will travel to nursing homes and long-term care facilities to perform 45-minute tests.Walgreens will also be opening nine drive-through sites across the state, including ones in Orlando and Winter Garden. CVS will follow soon with its own drive-through tests.Health-wise, the weekend totals for Florida saw an increase of 1,350 cases and 65 deaths since Friday’s update from the health department.Central Florida now has 4,178 cases, including 1,438 in Orange, 536 in Polk, 516 in Osceola, 514 in Volusia, 396 in Seminole, 310 in Brevard, 235 in Lake and 233 in Sumter.Nine new fatalities were also reported in the region over the weekend, including an 83-year-old woman in Orange; an 85-year-old woman in Osceola; two women ages 74 and 79 in Polk; and five people in Volusia County: four women ages 82, 90, 91 and 92, and a 93-year-old man. The new weekend reports bring the region’s death toll to 138. ().AdvertisementMeanwhile, South Florida remains the epicenter of the pandemic in the state, accounting for 59 percent of cases with 21,786 total among Miami-Dade (13,092), Broward (5,383) and Palm Beach (3,311) counties.World leaders on Monday began pledging billions of dollars for research into a vaccine against the new coronavirus, but warned that it is just the start of an effort that must be sustained over time to beat the disease.At a video-conference summit, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said that an $8.2 billion target being sought to help find a vaccine, new treatments and better tests for the disease would be merely a “down-payment” on the tools that will be needed to fight the virus.“To reach everyone, everywhere, we likely need five times that amount,” Guterres said.Just over an hour into the summit, close to $5.5 billion had been pledged, according to a European Commission tally..AdvertisementYou can find a running summary of the latest updates on the coronavirus in the Orlando area and Florida below. Also, sign up for new daily Florida coronavirus update by subscribing to The Health Report newsletter and as-they-happen Breaking News emails at .Yes, SeaWorld Orlando is still closed without an official opening date on the calendar as the state slowly starts to reopen from the coronavirus pandemic.But theto as the company announced Monday it is automatically upgrading annual passes by one tier for the rest of the year. For instance, a gold passholder who had no blockout dates at Aquatica Orlando and SeaWorld Orlando now gets access to all the company’s 11 U.S. theme parks, including Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, under the platinum pass.Jury trials will remain suspended statewide through July 2 to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, .Grand jury proceedings and jury selection processes are also suspended through July.Orlando’s utility is being as woefully stingy compared with other major Florida utilities in giving customers the ability to conserve electricity and reduce bills as the coronavirus pandemic triggers economic distress.AdvertisementIn particular, Orlando Utilities Commission “demonstrates a lack of serious commitment to help its low-income customers,” according to representatives of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and Earthjustice in a statement to the Florida Public Service Commission.An OUC spokesman said leadership of his public utility owned by the city of Orlando “strongly disagrees” with the energy alliance and Earthjustice.Coronavirus cases across the state’s massive prison system have ballooned, with 373 inmates and 167 corrections staff testing positive across 33 prisons , according to the agency’s Sunday report. The death toll has also continued to creep up: Two more inmates died after testing positive for COVID-19 last week, bringing the total to seven. FDC incarcerates about 94,000 inmates and has about 24,000 full-time staff.As COVID-19 cases climb, corrections officers across the state have complained that a lack of planning and preparation — like early temperature checks, aggressive testing or personal protective equipment, including masks — left them unnecessarily exposed, as well as their families and the inmates at their facilities. that they were not allowed to wear face masks in early April. FDC has since distributed inmate-made cloth masks to all officers and inmates and required they be worn, a process that was completed last week.Florida sales tax collections from March are as much as $770 million below estimates for the month, according to That’s about 25 percent less than the state expected to raise in sales tax revenue for the month, according to the reports.AdvertisementApril collections are expected to be worse: Walt Disney World didn’t shut down until halfway through March, for instance, and DeSantis didn’t issue a statewide shelter-in-place order until the beginning of April.Health data measuring coronavirus infection rates and emergency room visits for COVID-19 symptoms is morning.“All the current data indicates we’re in good shape," said Dr. Raul Pino, director of the state Health Department in Orange County.He told a committee working on guidelines to reopen businesses in Orange that community testing for the virus is finding fewer positive cases.Carnival Cruise Line announced plans to resume some cruising starting August 1 including sailing from Florida’s Port Canaveral and PortMiami. through June 30, but that now extends through July.Florida gas prices could be in the fast lane to bump back up as more drivers return to work this week. The end of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ stay-at-home restriction is expected to boost optimism within the fuel market, leading experts to believe gasoline demand will soon be on the rise, according to AAA.AdvertisementFlorida gas prices The price is even lower in Orlando where averages are circling around $1.71 - over a dollar cheaper than the same time last year, according to AAA records.As soon as Florida started shutting down because of the coronavirus pandemic, Jackie Moore, who owns a coffee shop in Winter Park, called her insurance agent to see if the shop could recoup its losses. “My first question to her was, ‘Do I have the insurance that covers that?’" Because of widespread uncertainty and lack of clear guidance about mortgage relief options, home loan borrowers and profiteering if they decide to skip payments because of COVID-19-related financial hardship.Misinformation is rampant, and even mortgage industry experts and consumer watchdogs admit that they are unsure about possible consequences for borrowers who seek help promised by the government.How can you get involved with community service while you are stuck in isolation at home?Experience Kissimmee recently to help children, medical professionals and senior citizens.AdvertisementIt’s hard enough for established Orlando restaurants to stay afloat in the coronavirus-burdened economy, but . With community support, and that of fellow business owners, they say, the odds increase exponentially.The owner of J.Crew is , two months after the first person in New York tested positive for COVID-19. The city, where J.Crew Group Inc. is based, went into lockdown soon after, followed by much the country. Retail stores in New York City and across the country shut their doors.U.S. officials believe — and how contagious the disease is — to stock up on medical supplies needed to respond to it, intelligence documents show.Chinese leaders “intentionally concealed the severity” of the pandemic from the world in early January, according to a four-page Department of Homeland Security intelligence report dated May 1 and obtained by The Associated Press. The revelation comes as the Trump administration has intensified its criticism of China, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying Sunday that that country was responsible for the spread of disease and must be held accountable.President Donald Trump predicted Sunday night that the death toll from the coronavirus pandemic ravaging the country may reach as high as 100,000 in the United States, far worse than he had forecast just weeks ago, even as he pressed states to reopen the shuttered economy.Trump, who last month forecast that fatalities from the outbreak could be kept “substantially below the 100,000” mark and probably around 60,000, But nonetheless, he said that parks, beaches and some businesses should begin reopening now and that schools should resume classes in person by this fall.AdvertisementWear disposable gloves when cleaning and disinfecting surfaces. Gloves should be discarded after each cleaning. If reusable gloves are used, those gloves should be dedicated for cleaning and disinfection of surfaces for COVID-19 and should not be used for other purposes.Call your health-care provider if you have cough, fever, shortness of breath, chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sort throat and new loss of taste or smell — and you’ve been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19.WeeklyA weekly update on health news in Florida. &gt; Follow these recommendations for using a face mask: The wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social-distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies), especially in areas of significant community-based transmission. The Florida Department of Health has set up a call center to answer questions about coronavirus. There’s a number for Orange County, too.The Florida Department of Health’s number is 1-866-779-6121 and is available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Residents may also email questions to .AdvertisementIn Orange County, the number to call is 407-723-5004; it’s available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.For mental-health help, .See complete coverage at .This article originally appeared on . The Associated Press contributed to this report. Advertisement

AdvertisementBy Orlando SentinelMay 04, 2020 at 7:55 pmAs most of Florida began the first step of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ reopening plan, the state endured its third straight week of at least 300 reported deaths.Also on Monday, DeSantis inspector general to investigate the state’s beleaguered unemployment system.Advertisement“This thing wasn’t going to cut it,” he said of the system, which has been plagued by bottlenecks and technology problems and has processed less than half of the tens of thousands of claims since the outbreak began in March.At one point in mid-April, it was processing just...

Florida coronavirus update for Monday: DeSantis starts probe into troubled unemployment system; residents begin ‘Phase 1’ of reopening

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