Coronavirus in Florida updates: Cases continue burst as death totals rise to 17
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We'll update this story throughout the day with the latest news about coronavirus and its effects in Florida.
Seventeen people who have tested positive for the novel coronavirus have died in Florida, according to Monday evening's advisory from the state Department of Health.
Florida reported three new deaths Monday, while 220 additional positive cases brought the state's total to 1,227.
South Florida continues to be the epicenter for the outbreak, with more than half of the state's cases coming out of Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties. Of the state's 1,227 confirmed cases of COVID-19, 630 come from those three counties — Miami-Dade, 278; Broward, 263; Palm Beach, 89.
In Broward, three people who had tested positive for the novel coronavirus have died. Three have also died in both Duval and Palm Beach counties. There have also been deaths reported in Clay County (2), Lee County (2), Orange County (2), Manatee County, and Santa Rosa County. The ages of the deceased range from 68 to 96.
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Collectively, as of Monday evening, 12,865 had received testing for COVID-19, and the overwhelming majority of those tests, 11,637, had tested negative. Results are pending for 1,100.
The state is now including the cities where cases have been confirmed. The city is not always received as part of the initial notification and may be missing while the case is being investigated, the state Department of Health noted.
Under the direction of Gov. Ron DeSantis, the state Department of Health will update numbers twice daily, at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Second death reported in Palm Beach County
11:50 a.m. March 23
A second Palm Beach County resident succumbed to the coronavirus overnight as the number of cases in Florida continued to swell.
The 84-year-old county woman who died overnight pushed the statewide death toll to 14.
The number of cases have more than doubled since Friday.
The victims now include a 2-year-old girl in Alachua County. A 6-year-old girl who lives west of Boca Raton had been the state’s youngest confirmed case.
Gov. DeSantis weighing options on statewide business shutdown, sheltering in place
11:58 a.m. March 23
With state parks closed as of Monday, cities imposing curfews and counties closing beaches, several state lawmakers and its largest newspapers are pushing for a statewide lockdown as Florida's coronavirus cases ballooned over 1,100.
As of Monday morning — the same morning U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams said on the Today show to expect things to get worse — the Florida Department of Health reported 164 new cases that tested positive, bringing the total to 1,171, with 1,096 state residents and 14 state deaths.
At a news conference at The Villages, a seniors-only community spread out over three counties, Gov. Ron DeSantis said he is weighing his options, including an executive order requiring all Floridians to shelter-in-place and limit nonessential services.
Field hospital coming to Jacksonville
11:40 a.m. March 23
Florida emergency management director Jared Moskowitz said at a news conference Monday that a field hospital is on its way to Jacksonville, one of a few being set up across the state.
“We don’t see a need for folks to go to a field hospital, but we want to have that up and running,” he said.
Field hospitals are being established to handle overflow patients in the event local hospitals become overcrowded. The field hospitals are typically handling non-coronavirus patients because patients infected with the virus need intensive-care beds equipped with negative-pressure ventilation that contains airflow in each room.
Pressure builds for total lockdown in Florida over coronavirus
9:23 a.m. March 23
As cities and states around the nation order residents to stay at home to limit the spread of coronavirus, pressure is building on Gov. Ron DeSantis to consider a similar lockdown.
Florida has been especially hard hit by the coronavirus, with more than 1,000 cases. States with fewer cases already have issued stay-at-home orders.
Ohio, Louisiana and Delaware all issued such orders Sunday, mirroring actions already taken by California, New York, Illinois, Connecticut and New Jersey.
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Florida shuts down all 175 state parks
6:29 a.m. March 23
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is shutting the state’s 175 parks to reduce the potential spreading of the coronavirus.
The move, announced late Sunday, came at the direction of Gov. Ron DeSantis to uphold recent social distancing guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control.
All state parks will be closed indefinitely beginning March 23.
Sen. Rand Paul tests positive for COVID-19
March 22, 1:55 p.m. Sunday
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., tested positive for COVID-19 and is being quarantined, his office announced Sunday.
His D.C. office reports that it began remote operations 10 days ago and no staff has had contact with the senator. He is the first U.S. senator and third member of Congress to test positive for the novel coronavirus.
State announces field hospitals in Broward, Miami-Dade counties
March 22, 1:54 p.m. Sunday
With close to 1,000 tests pending results at state health labs and the number of confirmed cases expected to increase, Gov. DeSantis remarked Sunday on the possibility of using vacant medical facilities to isolate COVID-19 patients.
“We hope it doesn’t come to that. We do have capacity — but we’ve got to do our part to stop the spread of the virus so we don’t end up overwhelming the healthcare system,” he said.
Florida Keys set to close to visitors beginning Sunday night
March 21, 11:51 p.m.
The Florida Keys are preparing to shut down, closing to visitors Sunday night at 6 p.m. Eastern, including all hotels and other lodging establishments.
A statement on the county's website said the Keys would be "closed to all tourists and leisure visitors, lodging establishment are no longer accepting reservations until further notice, including extending extensions of current reservations, and by 6 p.m. on Sunday, all hotels, short-term (less than 28 days) vacation rentals, and other transient rentals like marinas, RV parks, and timeshares will cease renting to tourists for 14 days."
What are the symptoms of coronavirus?
Symptoms can range from mild to severe, and some people don't have any symptoms at all. The most common symptoms resemble the flu and include fever, tiredness and dry cough. Some people also develop aches and pains, nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat or diarrhea.
Patients with COVID-19 have had mild to severe respiratory illness with symptoms of fever, cough and shortness of breath, the Centers for Disease Control said.
About 1 in 6 people becomes seriously ill and develops difficulty breathing, according to the World Health Organization. If you experience fever, cough and shortness of breath, call your doctor.
Symptoms may appear anywhere between two to 14 days after exposure, with the average patient seeing onset at around five days, according to the CDC.
