Name: Florida coronavirus update for Thursday: Death toll reaches 1,600 with 38,828 cases
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Florida coronavirus update for Thursday: Death toll reaches 1,600 with 38,828 cases

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AdvertisementBy Orlando SentinelMay 07, 2020 at 7:57 pmFlorida’s coronavirus death toll reached 1,600 on Thursday as Disney World said it would begin opening its .While the hotels and theme parks themselves will remain closed for the time being, some stores and restaurants at Disney Springs will reopen, although it didn’t specify which ones. The resort, including its theme parks, has been shut down since mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic.Advertisement“Disney Springs will begin to reopen in a way that incorporates enhanced safety measures, including increased cleaning procedures, the use of appropriate face coverings by both cast members and guests, limited-contact guest services and additional safety training for cast members," Matt Simon, vice president for Disney Springs, wrote in a post on the official Disney Parks Blog.As of Thursday morning, Florida reported 1,600 fatalities among 38,828 cases. Central Florida had 4,356 cases, including 1,474 in Orange, 594 in Polk, 544 in Osceola, 534 in Volusia, 410 in Seminole, 325 in Brevard, 238 in Sumter and 237 in Lake. ().AdvertisementBut local hospital officials said the number of patients admitted because of the virus has remained low in recent days -- a sign the pandemic is waning, at least for now, in Central Florida.South Florida remains the epicenter of the pandemic in the state, accounting for 58% of cases with 22,849 total among Miami-Dade (13,585), Broward (5,677) and Palm Beach (3,587) counties.Nationwide, there are over 1.25 million cases and 75,000 deaths. Worldwide, there are over 3.8 million cases and 268,000 deaths, according to the .In Florida, , if not earlier, according to data recently published by the Florida health department.At least 26 people who contracted COVID-19 started showing symptoms in late December or January, and at least eight of them had not traveled and did not have contact with another person infected by the virus. The trend continued into February.Dr. Raul Pino, health officer for the Florida Department of Health in Orange County said he believes he was one of the earliest cases based on symptoms he developed in January and said he will take an antibody test.“I think I had it in January myself,” he said, noting that a pandemic doesn’t become “explosive that fast” without having lingered in the community for some period beforehand.In economic news, a working group developing guidelines to reviving Central Florida tourism brought new recommendations Wednesday to Mayor Jerry Demings’ Economic Recovery Task Force.AdvertisementGeorge Aguel, CEO of Visit Orlando, said his agency plans to steer its initial marketing efforts toward Floridians in the coming weeks, hoping to expand to other cities within a day’s drive of Orlando later this summer. Those efforts could be in other southeast metro areas, such as Atlanta, Charlotte and Nashville.The task force also recommended Demings launch an electronic survey to gauge consumer confidence, as some restaurants and stores reopened this week under statewide capacity restrictions.In order to help those businesses, the county will distribute 1 million masks and 200,000 bottles of hand sanitizer purchased with federal CARES Act dollars sent to Orange County, Demings said. He added the personal protective equipment is expected to help about 20,000 small businesses with 25 or fewer employees.As Florida re-opens, businesses’ can follow steps to protect their employees and customers from -Practice hand and face hygiene🧼-Keep at least 6 feet between employees and customers🙅‍♂️-Avoid sharing tools/equipment🚫-Limit cash handling💳 — Florida Dept. Health (@HealthyFla)Meanwhile, Florida — a decline from the previous week — to close out April reeling from the pandemic.The state report represented a significant drop from the 433,103 claims filed the previous week. Since March, the overwhelmed Department of Economic Opportunity has been submitting estimated claims figures to the U.S. Department of Labor as it struggles to weed out duplicate and incomplete claims that continue to clog its system.The federal Labor Department on Thursday reported 3,169,000 filings nationwide, a decrease of 677,000 from the previous week’s revised number of 3,846,000. The seven-week running total — starting from when business shutdowns started in earnest — is 33.5 million.Advertisement.You 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 .Central Florida’s public bus system will resume its normal schedule Monday after several weeks of adhering to what riders referred to as a Sunday schedule because of the stay-at-home orders to fight the coronavirus outbreak.Lynx reduced its schedule so buses arrive every hour at many stops, providing enough for essential services. Under a normal schedule, buses arrive at many stops every 30 minutes. The agency also stopped charging fares so riders could use the rear doors of buses in order to stay farther away from drivers. Fare charging will resume as soon as next month.Lime is relaunching a limited fleet of 100 scooters Friday in several downtown neighborhoods of Orlando.They had been removed from public spaces in response to the coronavirus outbreak. A spokesman said the vehicles are being cleaned regularly according to CDC guidelines. Lime is one several scooter vendors that set up operations in Orlando during the months before the pandemic arrived.AdvertisementThe state announced a new policy this week if the homes can’t meet isolation requirements. The policy comes as the number of infections and deaths at the facilities increases.A military member for coronavirus Wednesday. The White House said Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have since tested negative for the virus and “remain in good health.”Spokesman Hogan Gidley said in a statement the military member works “on the White House campus” and tested positive Wednesday. The White House instituted safety protocols nearly two months ago to protect the nation’s political leaders, including frequent temperature checks. Last month it began administering rapid COVID-19 tests to all those near the president, with staffers being tested about once a week.The owners of thousands of restaurants in the nation’s largest franchise chains — including Denny’s, McDonald’s and Papa John’s — .The nearly $700 billion PPP fund has become one of the central pillars in the federal government’s multi-trillion-dollar effort to stabilize the U.S. economy during the COVID-19 pandemic.The U.S. Small Business Administration has processed more than 3.8 million loans through the program so far, but the Trump administration has refused to disclose a list of recipients. That makes it all but impossible to evaluate how successful the program has been in tossing a coronavirus lifeline to the nation’s smallest businesses.AdvertisementAfter initially being pushed from April to June this year, for a full show until March 2021.The larger-than-life convention for fans of comic books, sci-fi, anime and gaming attracts more than 100,000 people annually. Like many other festivals and events this year, MegaCon is feeling the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has prevented large crowds from gathering due to health concerns.A Leon County circuit judge Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit seeking to that have been delayed amid a crush of people losing jobs because of the coronavirus pandemic. The potential class-action lawsuit was filed last month as the state’s CONNECT unemployment system faced massive problems. But after a telephone hearing Wednesday, Judge Angela Dempsey said the plaintiffs did not meet legal requirements for a relatively unusual type of order known as a “writ of mandamus.”The Canaveral Port Authority will begin a phased re-opening of Jetty Park next week that includes new guest requirements and new rules for visiting the park and using park facilities. It features new operating hours, new parking capacity limits and new rules for using the fishing pier and beach.The date has not been set, but when it does open, parking will be available from 7 a.m.-8 p.m. Access to Jetty Park Beach and Fishing Pier parking at the far east side of the park will be limited to current Jetty Park Annual Passholders.Others can park elsewhere in the park, but there will be a maximum daily car limit of 230 vehicles and no walk-in visitors will be accepted. The Jetty Park Campground remains closed. Beachgoers must be in groups of 10 or less and remain 6 feet apart. Details on opening will be posted to AdvertisementIf ever there was a year to recognize nurses, this would be that year. National Nurses Week began May 6 and Pollo Tropical wants to make sure these healthcare professionals get properly thanked.Through May 12, nurses with a valid work ID can stop by any Pollo Tropical location between the hours of 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. and pickup a free Classic Chicken Tropichop. No other purchase is necessary. last week as the business shutdowns caused by the viral outbreak deepened the worst U.S. economic catastrophe in decades.Roughly 33.5 million people have now filed for jobless aid in the seven weeks since the coronavirus began forcing millions of companies to close their doors and slash their workforces. That is the equivalent of one in five Americans who had been employed back in February, when the unemployment rate reached a 50-year low of just 3.5%.. Jobless workers filed 173,191 claims — a decline from the previous week — to close out April. The state report represented a significant drop from the 433,103 claims filed the previous week. Since March, the overwhelmed Department of Economic Opportunity has been submitting estimated claims figures to the U.S. Department of Labor as it struggles to weed out duplicate and incomplete claims that continue to clog its system.A set of detailed documents created by the nation’s top disease investigators meant to give step-by-step advice to local leaders deciding when and how to reopen public places such as mass transit, day care centers and restaurants during the still-raging pandemic .AdvertisementThe 17-page report by a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention team, titled “Guidance for Implementing the Opening Up America Again Framework,” was researched and written to help faith leaders, business owners, educators and state and local officials as they begin to reopen.The guidelines were supposed to be published last Friday, but agency scientists were told the guidance “would never see the light of day,” according to a CDC official.Calling the new a “game-changer,” DeSantis said its tests will provide results in 45 minutes.The vehicle will begin by traveling in Miami-Dade to areas with multiple nursing homes close together. Run by StatLab, a Miami company, the mobile unit will run round-the-clock shifts and process about 500 tests a day.National guard and contract nurses still will collect the samples and hand them off to the mobile lab to process. The Florida National Guard and health department staff have been collecting samples from residents and staff in Florida long-term care facilities, but they are sent out to labs that take about 48 hours to learn a result.The state is giving approval for CVS, Walgreens and Walmart to conduct tests and that he’s looking into the possibility of home testing. Testing at those businesses will start with a handful of locations and then expand.AdvertisementThe precautions have been taken as the coronavirus pandemic, which has shut down some industries, pushes more people toward unemployment and sometimes desperation., offering up family heirlooms, wedding rings and even gold teeth as collateral, said Orlando Grafals, who has helped run Pawn Bros on Sand Lake Road for about three years.“They need some type of income,” he said. “We can’t just give them a hamburger to eat once.”The Leesburg BikeFest, postponed by the coronavirus outbreak, . The event draws tens of thousands of motorcyclist enthusiasts to Lake County each spring, but this year’s festival in April was canceled because of the pandemic.Jamelia Fairley, a McDonald’s worker in Orlando, said the company told employees they “shouldn’t wear masks at work because it would scare customers away."It’s why she and workers across , another in a series of demonstrations led by the Fight for $15 and a Union, a movement of low-wage workers that’s been fighting for a $15 minimum wage since 2012.AdvertisementWorkers, many of them McDonald’s employees in particular, have been protesting since March across the country for safer working conditions. In response, McDonald’s vowed to make “important changes” last month, ramping up cleanliness and safety standards and sending masks to the areas of greatest need.Much of the year, the , be it Florida Gators’ orange and blue or gold paired with either UCF black or FSU garnet.But when late spring rolls around, the Sunshine State becomes saturated with the hues of other high-profile programs as recruiters arrive from all corners of the country to evaluate area high school talent.Due to the coronavirus shutdown, gray areas now abound, forcing all parties involved to adapt to an alien recruiting landscape.The Downtown Credo coffee shop in Orlando’s College Park neighborhood . Business at the 706 W. Smith St. store where customers named their price had been trending down before the virus, owner Ben Hoyer said in a phone interview. He said he was also anticipating a rent increase and the shop had been shuttered for about a month because of the pandemic, which worsened the situation.AdvertisementPublic health is everyone’s responsibility. Make sure to wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces frequently, and stay home when you are sick.Are you feeling stressed or depressed from the COVID19 outbreak? There are resources available for you. You can contact the Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990 or visit 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 .In Orange County, the number to call is 407-723-5004; it’s available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.AdvertisementFor mental-health help, .See complete coverage at .This article originally appeared on . The Sun Sentinel and Associated Press contributed to this report. Advertisement

AdvertisementBy Orlando SentinelMay 07, 2020 at 7:57 pmFlorida’s coronavirus death toll reached 1,600 on Thursday as Disney World said it would begin opening its .While the hotels and theme parks themselves will remain closed for the time being, some stores and restaurants at Disney Springs will reopen, although it didn’t specify which ones. The resort, including its theme parks, has been shut down since mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic.Advertisement“Disney Springs will begin to reopen in a way that incorporates enhanced safety measures, including increased cleaning procedures, the...

Florida coronavirus update for Thursday: Death toll reaches 1,600 with 38,828 cases

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