Coronavirus in Florida updates: Reported COVID-19 deaths rise by 18% as statewide cases break 10,000
We'll update this story throughout the day with the latest news about coronavirus and its effects in Florida.
Following breaking a single-day record of 43 COVID-19-related deaths on Thursday, the state once again witnessed a deadly day of coronavirus.
Approximately 170 have fallen victim to the novel coronavirus in Florida, according to an evening advisory Friday from the state Department of Health. The state agency reported 26 new coronavirus fatalities on Friday, putting it among one of the state's deadliest days yet.
Friday, the number of fatalities jumped by 18%, according to the latest data from the state agency. Thursday, the state's deadliest day for coronavirus to date, the number of fatalities jumped by 42%, with the addition of 43 cases.
Increasing rapidly — at a pace of 14% on Friday — cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus in Florida surpassed 10,000 on Friday. A day into Gov. Ron DeSantis' issued safer-at-home order, case totals increased by more than a thousand for the fourth consecutive day.
Positive cases of COVID-19, in comparison to Thursday's final report, grew with an addition of 1,260 cases — in total a 14% increase.
Nearly 13% of the state's confirmed COVID-19 cases, approximately 1,334 people, are being hospitalized, according to the latest advisory.
Of the 94,447 who have been tested for COVID-19, 84,144 have tested negative for the virus. Another 1,338 results are pending.
DeSantis issued statewide restrictions Wednesday aimed to encourage Floridians to stay home as the state awaits the peak of COVID-19 — likely weeks away. The restrictions went into effect at 12:01 a.m. Friday.
Scroll to the bottom for symptoms to watch for.
CDC Self checker:Guide of what to watch for and what to do.
DeSantis suspends foreclosures, evictions
7:11 p.m. April 3
President Donald Trump reversed course on Friday, announcing that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would revise the recommendations to advise people to start wearing masks in public to stop the spread of coronavirus.
The president noted the guidance is "only a recommendation," adding that he doesn't plan to wear one himself.
Walmart to limit number of shoppers in stores
7:18 p.m. April 3
Walmart announced it will limit the number of shoppers allowed in its stores at a time.
Starting Saturday, stores will "allow no more than five customers for each 1,000 square feet at a given time, roughly 20% of a store’s capacity."
Stores with multiple entrances will close one and have guidance outside its stores to practice social distancing while waiting to enter. Traffic flow will move on a one in, one out basis.
DeSantis suspends foreclosures, evictions
4:37 p.m. April 2
Gov. Ron DeSantis, citing the state's growing number of unemployment cases, will suspend evictions and foreclosures for 45 days.
DeSantis announced the executive order at a media briefing Thursday.
The governor's executive order follows 6 million nationwide filing for unemployment claims in the last week, according to national reports.
Pensacola Beach lifeguards turn 1,465 would-be beachgoers away to date
6 a.m. April 3
There are few footprints in the shiny white sands of Pensacola Beach.
Pensacola Beach and Perdido Key Beach have remained off limits since March 21 after Escambia County Commissioners ordered the closures over concern for the coronavirus. But lifeguards have been kept busy.
Since the close of the beach, lifeguards have intercepted would-be beachgoers 1,465 times to explain they are not allowed on the beach. They have also responded to two medical requests — helping one citizen with chest pain and assisting firefighters with a bicycle crash.
DeSantis issues statewide safer-at-home order
1:20 p.m. April 1
Gov. Ron DeSantis will issue a safer-at-home order for the next 30 days.
DeSantis made the announcement Wednesday during a press conference in Tallahassee.
The order will go into effect at 12:01 a.m. Friday. Under the order, people will be allowed to engage in 'essential activities." Details on what constitutes an activity as essential are said to be released later Wednesday.
Learn more: Gov. DeSantis issues 'safer at home' order. What it means
Florida's 'safer-at-home' order explained:3 things to know, including list of essential businesses
Delayed lockdown decision could haunt DeSantis
April 2
The nearly two-week debate over whether to issue a statewide lockdown in Florida may have been the most important policy question Gov. Ron DeSantis will ever face during his time in office.
When this is all over, Floridians will look back and remember this as one of the most extraordinary moments in their lives, and they’ll remember what the government did — and did not do – during this critical period.
DeSantis could be dogged for the rest of his career by those who say he did not act quickly enough in a crisis, even as his supporters argue his approach was measured and prudent.
Tallahassee police broke up pool parties last weekend, asking for compliance on gatherings
April 2
Police officers in Tallahassee broke up multiple pool parties at student apartment complexes last week even after the county issued a ban on gatherings of more than 10 people.
It prompted the Tallahassee Police Department to issue a letter this week to apartment complexes reminding them of Leon County’s order, to be vigilant in dispersing crowds and limiting use or closing amenities to control the spread of coronavirus.
Attorneys seek to question Gov. Ron DeSantis in beach closure lawsuit
8 a.m. April 2
A suit filed by two north Florida attorneys to force Gov. Ron DeSantis to close Florida beaches during the coronavirus pandemic is moving forward in Tallahassee — with DeSantis potentially in a witness chair.
Santa Rosa County’s Daniel Uhlfelder and Tallahassee’s Gautier Kitchen argue in court documents that DeSantis’ failure to invoke an emergency power provision — granted to the governor by the state constitution — to issue a statewide beach closure order while the virus spreads is “an existential threat to Floridians.”
My husband survived COVID-19. ‘And it was one hell of a ride.’
7:22 a.m. April 2
Samantha Hirsh of suburban Boynton Beach, a marketing worker and a stay-at-home mom of a 13-year-old daughter and an 11-year-old son, chronicled the ordeal her husband, Craig, a financier, suffered with the ailment caused by coronavirus. Here is her story, edited for space and clarity.
Palm Beach County fires parks worker over social media posts
April 1
Speaking out about her employer’s response to a global pandemic cost a Palm Beach County employee her job.
Megan Archer, a recreation specialist with the Parks and Recreation Department since October, was fired Monday for violating the county’s social media policy and engaging in “conduct unbecoming a public employee” while on probation.
“Bottom line is: sure, I did violate the policy,” Archer, a West Palm Beach resident, told The Palm Beach Post. “If somebody doesn’t speak out and ask questions, then who will? That was the risk I had to take.”
Hospital braces for Jacksonville surge to start in matter of days
April 1
Dr. David Caro has a whiteboard in his office at UF Health Jacksonville mapping out a series of trigger points for how the hospital will deal with the looming wave of patients who will come through the door in ever-growing numbers over the next month.
He’s seen the news reports about the desperate situation in Italy. He hopes UF Health Jacksonville won’t see that kind of overload, but even if it doesn’t, the hospital has done models predicting that demand for care will start rising in a matter of days in a surge that will keep building to a peak in early May.
Checkpoints set up for motorists entering Florida
March 30
Effective immediately, motorists who are traveling from areas with substantial community spread including Louisiana, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, will be required to isolate for a period of 14 days upon entry to Florida or for the duration of their visit, whichever is shorter, and should be prepared for additional monitoring by DOH to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
No checkpoints within the state impede commerce or the timely delivery of products across Florida.
To assist with the implementation and enforcement of the Executive Order, FHP will staff the checkpoint at I-95 at the Georgia/Florida line 24 hours a day with more than a dozen troopers in 12-hour shifts.
FDOT Emergency travel information.
Are grocery stores and pharmacies vectors for the coronavirus?
March 29
There's so much to touch and grab at the grocery store — shopping carts, freezer door handles, cardboard boxes and plastic packaging.
Such surfaces are almost unavoidable for shoppers. But they also carry a certain amount of risk in the age of the COVID-19 pandemic, adding urgency to a troubling question: Have pharmacies and supermarkets become super-spreading virus vectors?
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.