As of Thursday, April 2, the United States has reached over 200,000 cases and that does not seem to be the end. With CNN Health reporting 869 deaths on Wednesday alone, the country will most likely reach more than 200,000 deaths.
The state of Florida is at about 7,000 cases making it 3.3% of the country’s infected population. Two more deaths have been reported, and Miami-Dade continues to surge.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez announced on Wednesday that he had signed an order that requires all adult day care centers to close. The order will take effect Friday at 11:59 p.m. Exceptions will be made for food and some personal services.
Miami Beach opened a new testing site at 10 a.m. to pre-registered MedRite patients. The site, located at 4621 Collins Ave., will run Sunday to Friday till April 15 and will administer approximately 250 to 300 tests a day. Testing results will be given out four days after screening.
The City of Hialeah also inaugurated a testing site at 9 a.m. at Amelia Earhart Park. The site is open by appointment only to Northwest Dade residents who are 65 and over with symptoms associated with COVID-19.
Officials of the hip-hop festival Rolling Loud announced on Wednesday afternoon that they will be postponing the event until next year. The festival will now take place President’s Day weekend in 2021 with the original lineup of 2020. All purchased tickets will be honored for the new dates, although the option for obtaining a refund is also available.
The Miami-Dade Homeless Trust shared on Wednesday that an individual in its population had been diagnosed with COVID-19. The individual has been isolated and received medical care. The department is also working with those who have come into contact with the infected. Two other individuals in supportive housing have also tested positive. Shelters will continue to screen individuals for signs and additional symptoms.
According to the National LGBTQ Task Force, Ron Rich, a long-time volunteer, died of complications of COVID-19. Rich reportedly attended the Miami Beach Winter Party, an annual week-long celebration of the LGBTQ community. The event took place March 4 to 10 and now multiple individuals who attended are reporting flu-like symptoms. Rich’s death is the second associated with the event.
An employee of Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale has tested positive for COVID-19. Local 10 reported that the president of The Federation of Public Employees, Daniel Reynolds, was notified of the confirmed case on Wednesday afternoon.
Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a statewide stay-at-home order on Wednesday afternoon. The order only allows residents to leave their home for essential activities. It will take effect at midnight and last for 30 days.
Multimedia story of the day: David Leonhardt of The New York Times explains how The United States, compared to other countries, is alarmingly behind in attempting to flatten the curve. Leonhardt provides a chart comparing the other three countries with the world’s largest number of cases.
Tweet of the day:
quarantine week 1: I’m going to use this time to learn a new skill and finish some projects
quarantine week 3: pic.twitter.com/a6cLSce0Re
— sloane (sipihkopiyesis) (@cottoncandaddy) April 1, 2020