Staff Reports
There are now more than 1,400 positive cases of the coronavirus and one more death in Florida after health department officials confirmed 185 more overnight.
The Department of Health reported 1,412 cases, including 1,330 Florida residents and 82 non-residents who were tested in the state. At least 18 people have now died from the COVID-19 disease as of the 11 a.m. announcement.
Miami-Dade County leads the state with 338 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus while Broward County has 311. Palm Beach County has 101 positive results and Hillsborough County has 91.
The state has now tested 15,547 individuals and received 13,127 negative results. At least 1,008 results are still pending.
The explosion of cases over the weekend and into this week can in part be attributed to Florida’s growing testing capabilities as it sets up drive-thru testing sites throughout the state.
All counties but 21 have no cases of COVID-19. Gadsden county has an infected Florida resident quarantined out of state.
At midnight, Alachua County began its order for nonessential businesses to close and residents to stay home. The county now has 37 confirmed cases, including three non-Florida residents.
“Alachua County has the highest rate of infections per capita of any Florida county and it must end, starting now. While we appreciate the sacrifices that many have made so far, it is not enough,” Alachua County Commission Chair Robert Karl Hutchinson said in a Monday meeting
Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order Monday to isolate travelers flying in from New York tri-state area to stop the spread of the virus from one of the nation’s coronavirus hotspots.
A group of candidates, including 12 for Congress, along with a number of state candidates, have called on the Governor to reduce or eliminate qualification fees required to appear on the ballot. The group held a press conference Monday shortly after the deadline passed for federal candidates to submit the necessary signature cards to qualify by petition.
But Secretary of State Laurel Lee said her department will “closely assess” the impact of the coronavirus on the upcoming elections.
One comment
Sonja Fitch
March 24, 2020 at 12:05 pm
Desantis your role model has to be Gov Cuomo! Not irrational paranoid delusional liar trump. We will be there with the New York numbers. Testing is going to give needed info but may be to late to flatten the curve. Act shut us down now. Shut down is inevitable just grasp the pandemic! More than one shut down will be needed to save lives. Now shut us down to slow the curve til may. The small business loans are appreciated but based on people getting back in a safe environment to buy.
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