Florida coronavirus deaths near 600 as global cases surpass 2 million

Tribune Content Agency

ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida now has 22,081 coronavirus cases with 591 deaths, according to the Florida Department of Health. Nationwide, there are over 613,000 cases and over 26,000 deaths. Worldwide, the number of cases surpassed 2 million Wednesday, with over 130,000 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University & Medicine Coronavirus Resource Center.

While cases and deaths continue to rise in Florida and beyond, there is some debate about when the peak will be in the state. Projections from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation out of the University of Washington show total deaths in the state, while still in the thousands, will be lower than earlier data suggested. But models formed by Orlando Health say Central Florida may have already peaked, the CEO told the Orlando Sentinel.

To help protect health care workers, Gov. DeSantis said Tuesday, Florida will receive another shipment of 1 million N95 masks and other personal protective equipment, or PPE, due to partnerships with 3M and other companies. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 9,282 health care professionals have been infected nationwide and that 27 have died from the virus.

Orlando’s drive-through site at the Orange County Convention Center as well as sites in state-run sites in Jacksonville and Miami have increased the number of daily patients and opened it up to anyone with symptoms, as well as anyone who may be asymptomatic but had close contact with confirmed cases.

Meanwhile, the FDA has approved the first saliva test for coronavirus, which both expands the current testing options available and potentially signals a safer path forward for health care workers.

As the outbreak continued hammering the economy, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, which runs the unemployment system, has not answered multiple questions about when Floridians should expect to receive state payments. For some workers, it has taken longer than three weeks.

More delays could be coming: The governor said last week the backlog is already more than half a million applications deep. Another estimated 77,000 Disney employees are expected to sign up for benefits beginning Sunday. The state is looking into auto-enrolling Disney employees with the help of the theme park giant, which could ease some of the strain.

For the business community, Florida has been issued more than 52,000 loans worth a combined $12.5 billion through the Paycheck Protection Program administered by the federal Small Business Administration. Across the country, hotel and restaurant companies of all sizes are tapping into the program, the $350 billion fund that Congress set up specifically for small businesses as part of an overall $2.2 trillion economic rescue plan.

Midsized and large hoteliers and restaurateurs are qualifying for the potentially forgivable loans — more than one, in many cases — under special rules written into the program at the request of industry lobbyists, who argued that hospitality businesses have been uniquely devastated by coast-to-coast travel bans, shutdowns and shelter-in-place orders.

DeSantis announced Wednesday he was following President Donald Trump’s lead in forming a task force to plan for the “resurgence and reopening of Florida.”

No names were announced yet, but DeSantis said it would be made up of a mix of people in government, business and education.

DeSantis also announced Florida would receive $173.6 million in federal CARES Act money earmarked for education, which can be used anywhere from Pre-K to higher education. Education secretary Richard Corcoran will put together a plan for where the funding would go.

DeSantis announced a major shift in leadership following the unemployment signup system problems the state has faced. DeSantis named Jonathan Satter, the head of the Department of Management Services, to be in charge of all “COVID-19 related” issues at the Department of Economic Security, which oversees the unemployment system. Ken Lawson will remain the head of the Department of Economic Opportunity for all other roles outside of unemployment.

“Jon Satter’s at the helm there, and we want to see real swift action,” DeSantis said. “Get it moving quicker but get us quick updates. … I don’t think the response has been sufficient in that regard.”

The halting attempts at economic relief come as Central Florida’s coronavirus cases also keep growing, now at 2,646. Orange County leads the region with 1,051, followed by Osceola’s 353, Polk’s 282, Seminole’s 281, Volusia’s 231, Lake’s 170, Brevard’s 164 and Sumter’s 114. Central Florida recorded three new deaths Wednesday, two each in Sumter and one in Volusia.

South Florida remains the epicenter of the state’s outbreak with 12,979 cases from Miami-Dade (7,863), Broward (3,334) and Palm Beach (1,782) counties accounting for nearly 59% of Florida’s total.

The state’s surgeon general, Scott Rivkees, said this week that Floridians should continue social distancing until there’s a vaccine, which he acknowledged could be a year or more away.

“As long as you have COVID in the environment, and this is a tough virus, we’re going to have to practice these measures so that we’re all protected,” Rivkees said at a Monday news conference in Tallahassee. Asked when there would be a vaccine so that the virus was no longer in the environment, Rivkees said. “Based on what has been reported, probably a year if not longer.”

———

©2020 The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, Fla.)

Visit The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, Fla.) at www.OrlandoSentinel.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.