Sarah Mueller
Another person in Florida has died from the novel coronavirus. That brings the total number of deaths in the state to 5.
The number of positive cases also rose Monday night to 160 people, 142 Florida residents and 18 non-Florida residents. The deceased was from Orange County.
Broward County continues to have most cases in the state, 24%, while Miami-Dade has 14% of all the cases. It appears some counties are seeing its first cases such as Leon County, although the resident was diagnosed and is being isolated out of Florida.
Florida health officials announced earlier Monday 155 positive cases in the state — up 19 cases from Sunday.
The Department of Health also released a new dashboard to the public. The new dashboard will be updated twice a day to provide more transparency, according to state officials. It gives viewers a map of where the cases are located and the number of cases in each county.
Gov. Ron DeSantis says they are internalizing Monday’s recommendations from the federal government in making any future decisions. The White House says Americans should refrain from gathering in groups of 10 or more people, delay unnecessary travel, and avoid eating out and going to bars for two weeks.
DeSantis says they expect to issue guidance on restaurants Tuesday morning and let local governments tailor it to fit their jurisdictions. He’s says he’s hesitant to issue an across-the-board executive order to mandate shut down public parks and beaches.
“At the end of the day, you’ve got to have everyone on the same sheet of music,” he said.
But he’s all supportive of all of the St. Patrick’s Day celebrations that have been canceled. And he’s not in favor of massive Spring Break parties either.
“To have people congregating in these bars or on these beaches like this I think undercuts our efforts to protect our vulnerable populations,” he said.
Florida election officials say the new guidance won’t stop voting in Tuesday’s primary election.
“Florida is proceeding with tomorrow’s election,” Secretary of State Laurel Lee said. “We are confident that voters in Florida can safely and securely go to the polls and cast their ballot.”
The Governor says it’s really just filling out one oval in most cases.
“I think we can do it in a levelheaded way, we can address the risks,” he said. “So I think that’s what we’re going to do.”
