Coronavirus in Florida updates: State's fifth death announced in Orange County, cases rise to 160
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We'll update this story throughout the day with the latest news about coronavirus and its effects in Florida.
A person in Orange County who tested positive for COVID-19 has died, the Florida Department of Health announced Monday evening.
There are now 160 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Florida, according to the latest advisory from the Florida Department of Health.
More:Brevard County reports its first coronavirus case
The numbers were made available at 7 p.m., hours after the Florida Department of Health announced plans to have updates available twice daily, effective Monday.
The latest advisory includes five new cases, and follows an advisory that included 19 new COVID-19 cases, split between 14 Florida residents and five non-Florida residents.
Miami-Dade saw one of the largest increase in the latest numbers, jumping from 13 to 23 cases.
Bars, wineries and restaurants were closed in Ohio, Illinois, Massachusetts and Washington, and mayors in New York City and Los Angeles took the same action in those cities. Customers were encouraged to support those businesses by ordering through delivery or takeout. U.S. McDonald's locations announced plans to close dining areas following close Monday, while still continuing drive-thru operations and in-person carry out ordering.
The CDC issued new recommendations late Sunday, saying that gatherings of 50 or more people should not take place in the U.S. for the next eight weeks. The recommendation does not apply to businesses or schools.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and members of President Donald Trump's coronavirus task force, told Americans the outbreak will get worse before it gets better, and to get ready to "hunker down." He doesn't believe a 14-day nationwide shutdown would be overreacting; in fact, he thinks it's likely necessary, adding that actions could be recommended into August or July. "Could be longer than that," the president said.
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More:Where is coronavirus in Florida? Use this map to track the outbreak of COVID-19
More:Coronavirus cancellations: Masters, NASCAR the latest sports events suspended amid COVID-19
Here are the latest numbers available from the Florida Department of Health:
Coronavirus case count in Florida now will be updated twice daily
1:11 p.m.
As more people are tested in South Florida and other hot spots of the coronavirus outbreak, the Florida Department of Health is moving to twice-daily updates about new cases starting Monday.
Updates will be posted midday and around 6 p.m., according to Helen Aguirre Ferré, spokeswoman for Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The department has also designed a new dashboard for tracking cases that allows viewers to dive deep by clicking on to each county for more detail on each case. For example, clicking on Broward County — which still has by far the largest number of cases — will expand a box that gives the number of cases (38), the number that are travel-related (15), the number of men (21) and women (17), and the age range (19-83).
FHSAA declines to take position on new CDC crowd guidelines
11:53 a.m.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends canceling or postponing gatherings of more than 50 people for the next eight weeks to curb the spread of COVID-19, but it’s not immediately clear how that will impact high school sports in Florida.
The Florida High School Athletic Association had no comment Monday morning when asked if it had a response to the CDC’s recommendation.
“Right now, we’re sticking to what we said Thursday,” FHSAA public relations specialist Ashton Moseley said, referring to the organization’s latest news release on the coronavirus. “We’re leaving it up to the local school districts, and we are monitoring the situation.”
Surgeon general: US could see high mortality rate if Americans don't follow guidelines
10:32 a.m.
The United States will end up with as high a mortality rate from the coronavirus as Italy without an aggressive response that includes Americans following the federal government’s guidance, Surgeon General Jerome Adams said on “Fox & Friends” Monday.
“When you look at the projections, there's every chance that we could be Italy,” Adams said.
“But there's every hope that we will be South Korea if people actually listen, if people actually social distance, if people do the basic public health measures that we've all been talking about as doctors all along, such as washing your hands, such as covering your cough, and cleaning surfaces.”
Drive-through testing center opens in Palm Springs
10:14 a.m.:
A nonprofit health center in Palm Springs began providing drive-through testing for the coronavirus.
The staff at FoundCare, a nonprofit Federally Qualified Health Center, fielded hundreds of calls in the hours since announcing it would be doing drive-thru testing for the coronavirus.
The staff is screening potential patients via phone to prioritize those who will be tested first.
Emergency order extends expiration date of driver licenses
9:40 a.m.:
At the direction of Governor Ron DeSantis, an emergency order was given that all Florida driver licenses, commercial driver license and ID cards expiring in the next 30 days will be extended an additional 30 days past the expiration date.
The order also waives the delinquent renewal fees during the extension period for the driver licenses and identification cards.
Disney World officially closes its doors; more Disney closures announced
9:12 a.m.
As Disney lovers waved goodbye to Walt Disney World, which closed Sunday night in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the company announced several park-adjacent hotels, dining and shopping experiences would also shut down.
The additional closures include Disney Springs in Orlando, which will shut down Tuesday. Non-Disney tenants in those locations "will make decisions on whether to continue or adjust operations," read an announcement from Disney Parks shortly after midnight Monday morning.
Walt Disney World Resort and Vero Beach Resort will close at 5 p.m. Friday to allow existing guests to make other arrangements. All Disney stores in North America will close Tuesday.
Florida cases crack 100 as officials expect even more with testing expanding
5 a.m.
With 39 new cases reported early Sunday, the number of novel coronavirus cases in Florida is now over 100 as test kits are being distributed across the state, and officials said the number of people diagnosed positive will continue to increase sharply.
South Florida — with three international airports, busy cargo and passenger shipping ports, and a large concentration of elderly — continues to be the epicenter of that growth with more than half of all positive cases diagnosed so far.
Broward County alone has 36 cases, including a group of young people from NOVA Southeastern University who all traveled as a group to Ireland, and exposed their relatives to the virus.
On Sunday, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that the state was partnering with the Florida National Guard and Memorial Healthcare to start mobile drive-through testing in Broward. Close to 175 guards were deployed Sunday with another several hundred on the way, he said, adding that they could probably partner with other hospitals in South Florida.
He also said he's asked the Department of Health for as much "amplifying information" as possible regarding COVID-19 tests to see more details on clusters within counties.
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Coronavirus vaccine trial starts Monday
8:38 p.m. Sunday
A clinical trial evaluating a vaccine designed to protect against the new coronavirus will begin Monday, according to a government official.
The first participant in the trial will receive the experimental vaccine on Monday, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the trial has not been publicly announced yet.
Get the full story here.
5 states close bars and restaurants to combat coronavirus
6:42 p.m. Sunday
The governors in five states — California, Ohio, Illinois, Massachusetts and Washington — mandated the closings of bars, restaurants and wineries in an effort to slow the spread of coronavirus.
In Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine said bars and restaurants can stay open for carry-out and delivery but "what we can't have is people congregating and seated."
"I'm aware that this will impact many, many good workers," DeWine wrote on Twitter. "I can't tell you how sorry I am, but we will work to mitigate the suffering. It is our goal for everyone to get through this.
"Every day we delay, more people will die."
Read the full story here.
Stores closing, cutting hours: Nike, Apple, Walmart, others
3:57 p.m. Sunday
Retailers across the nation are trimming store hours to focus on deep cleanings and to restock store shelves. Some are closing stores, too.
Apple announced it will close all its retail stores outside Greater China until March 27 due to the coronavirus outbreak. Urban Outfitters also announced all of its stores worldwide would be closed at least until March 28. Nike is making a similar move, temporarily closing all of its stores in the U.S. for 12 days, the company said in a statement.
Read the full story here.
What to know: Information about coronavirus
- Coronavirus preparedness kit: What to stock up for coronavirus
- What does the coronavirus do to your body? Everything to know about the infection process
- Coronavirus questions answered by a doctor: Should I panic? What are best prevention steps?
- How much does a coronavirus test cost?
- Prepare for coronavirus pandemic, experts say, but don't panic
- There are some steps you can do to try to avoid coronavirus
- What to know about the coronavirus (COVID-19), from symptoms to treatment
- Read Gov. Ron DeSantis' executive order on the coronavirus public health emergency
