Florida has scrambled to bring on more computer servers, set up a backup system for people to apply and allowed people to submit claims on paper applications.
Florida
Food Drops Are Not Enough. Expand Food Stamps Programs Now.
Big food drops like Palm Coast’s effort to feed 5,000 families are fine, but only an expanded SNAP (or food stamps) program can reach all families in need with an existing system that also acts as an economic stimulus for local business.
“Immune to Evidence”: How Dangerous Coronavirus Conspiracies Spread
Conspiratorial videos and websites about COVID-19 are going viral. Here’s how one of the authors of “The Conspiracy Theory Handbook” says you can fight back. One big takeaway: Focus your efforts on people who can hear evidence and think rationally.
Gyms Reopen Monday at 50% Capacity, Restaurants and Shops Expand to 50%, Theaters Remain Dark
Gov. Ron DeSantis today announced what he described as a “full Phase 1” reopening of society and the economy even as the state recorded more than 40 deaths from Covid-19 for the fourth straight day, and an average of 600 daily infections in the past two weeks.
DeSantis Signals Restaurant Seating Capacity Will Expand and Gyms Will Reopen
Gov. Ron DeSantis said he will announce Friday additional “phase one” measures to reopen the state’s economy, with the moves expected to include allowing more people to be seated in restaurants and allowing gyms to operate.
Florida as Sports Hub: DeSantis Wants Professional and Youth Teams to Resume Playing in State
The Washington Post reported that Major League Soccer is looking to house players in large resorts near Disney World as a way for games to resume for all 26 teams in Orlando.
Florida Adds Covid-19 Into Its Hurricane Preparations
Division of Emergency Management Director Jared Moskowitz said last week his agency is redeveloping plans about evacuations and shelters, while also adding facemasks to the state’s stockpile of storm supplies.
Palm Coast’s Grand Oaks Rehab Rejects Health Department’s Testing of Patients and Staff, Then Relents
After its corporate office overrode local resistance, Grand Oaks Rehab in Palm Coast agreed to have its 100 patients and 100 staff members tested for Covid-19 next week. The Flagler Health Department’s strike teams conducted 200 tests today at two other large nursing home facilities.
Flagler Health Officials Pledge to Keep Up Covid Testing as AdventHealth Phases Out Drive-Up Sites
There is some confusion about how much testing should take place–2 percent of the population per month or overall–and whether it will be available to the extent recommended as society reopens. The guideline from the federal government of testing 2 percent is a monthly goal, not an overall goal.
Florida’s Universities Weigh What May Be an Altered Reopening This Fall, With Emphasis on Remote Classes
FSU Provost Sally E. McRorie told faculty members in an email that it is likely the school will only offer in-person courses that cannot be done remotely. Many universities are considering keeping at least some instruction online.
DeSantis Is Right on Cautious Reopening, Wrong on Models
Gov. Ron DeSantis took a wisely cautious approach on reopening, but his caution contrasted with his ridicule of models that predicted grim outcomes for Florida in March. His criticism reflects a simplistic misunderstanding of models’ purpose, especially when they have their intended effect: to minimize loss of life.
Florida Supreme Court Weighs Wording of Recreational Marijuana Ballot Proposal
An attorney for Make It Legal Florida, said the proposal “piggybacks” on a system resulting from a 2016 constitutional amendment that broadly legalized medical marijuana in the state. Lawmakers and groups such as the Florida Chamber of Commerce trying to block the measure.
Flagler’s Covid-19 Deaths Rise to 4 But New Positive Cases Slow as Broader-Criteria Testing Increases
Flagler’s deaths add to a statewide tally approaching 1,500 as one of the models most closely watched by state and federal officials revised significantly upward its estimate of deaths for Florida now that the state has begun reopening.
‘Like Someone Went to Class and Didn’t Come Back’: Florida Universities Contend With Students’ Belongings
Universities across the state will allow students to have items delivered to them or return to campus at a safe time to pick up belongings. Some universities are even preparing to dispose of unwanted items at the students’ request.
More than a Fifth of Americans Unemployed as 1st Time Claims Keep Surging and Checks Keep Lagging
The total number of first-time claims filed in Florida since the start of the coronavirus emergency totals 1.6 million in a civilian labor force of 10.5 million, placing the state’s unemployment rate at over 15 percent.
County Elections Supervisors Describe Struggles With Felons’ Voting Law and Lack of Reliable Data
The state lacks a single database where felons, lawyers or elections officials can determine whether people have outstanding court-ordered financial obligations. Florida’s new but restrictive felon-voting law is the subject of a nationally watched trial this week.
Reality Check: What Antibody Studies Can Tell You — and More Importantly, What They Can’t
Coronavirus antibody studies and what they allegedly show have triggered fierce debates, further confusing public understanding, especially about fallacies about herd immunity. Here is some clarity and fact-checking around these crucial surveys.
FPL Customers’ Bills Will Drop 24% in May, Resulting from Lower Fuel Costs
The savings stem from lower-than-expected costs for natural gas to fuel power plants. Utilities are required to pass along savings to customers when fuel costs drop, but the money typically goes to customers gradually.
2 Staffers at 2 Assisted Living Facilites in Palm Coast Test Positive as Local Covid Cases Rise; Antibody Tests On the Way
Flagler’s Covid-19 cases now total 127, two of them at assisted living facilities, as local officials caution against a too-swift relaxation of precautions or too high hopes on antibody testing on its way. The testing will be focused on health workers.
Rumor Control is Critical and Time-Consuming for States, With No Help From Trump or His Likes
In addition to battling the coronavirus, states and localities are spending time and increased effort batting down rumors and myths — everything from President Donald Trump’s suggestion last week that injecting poisonous disinfectants might help to rumors that National Guard troops are enforcing stay-at-home orders at gunpoint.
Confirmed Flagler Covid-19 Increase By 28 in One Day, to 106, But Local Hospitalizations Still ‘Stable’
Flagler County added 28 confirmed Covid-19 cases in a single day today, by far the largest single-day tally of new cases, for a total of 106. But there does not appear to be an equivalent increase in hospitalizations.
Florida Jobless Claims Nearly Triple to Over Half a Million in a Week, U.S. Unemployment Over 16%
More than one in 10 new jobless claims–505,137 first-time applications of the 4.4 million new claims–across the United States last week were made to Florida’s overwhelmed unemployment system.
“We’re Not Opening Up The County,” Commission Chairman Cautions as Beaches Partially Reopen
The Flagler County Commission and Flagler Beach reopened their beaches partially starting Wednesday, but officials’ cautions against a premature, broader reopening are not all on the same page.
Consumer Confidence and Businesses Aggressively Implementing Safety Measures Will be Key to Rebound
Getting people to dine out, board airplanes and visit resorts will require increased confidence that businesses are aggressively implementing enhanced hygiene measures to reduce the spread of Covid-19, members of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ task force on reopening the state said Tuesday.
American Carnage: How Donald Trump Is Killing Us
The coronavirus has mutated into ideological variants. We are moving from a natural disaster to a man-made one, from statistically unavoidable deaths to deaths willed by indifference, ignorance, selfishness, and the political calculations of a single man. The consequences will compound rather than mitigate the pandemic.
Florida Task Force Looks for Answers on Reviving Economy and Making Testing More Widespread
The push to get businesses back open comes as public-health experts have warned social distancing restrictions should not be lifted until the numbers of new infections have slowed or stopped and there is widespread immunity.
Covid-19 Advice: 7 Lessons America’s Governors Should Not Ignore as They Reopen Economies
We spoke to frontline experts from around the globe and have compiled a list of recommendations for reopening U.S. states. Their consensus? It’s tough to find policies that simultaneously save lives and livelihoods.
113 Prisoners Test Positive for Covid-19, 47 of them at Volusia’s Tomoka Correctional
Along with the 113 inmates, 80 corrections workers had tested positive for Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Four inmates had also died, all at Blackwater River Correctional Facility in Santa Rosa County.
County Falsely Claims Testing Increased ‘Significantly,’ But Positive Cases Have, to 75–And County Must Send Back 650 Junk Test Kits
Flagler County government issued false and misleading figures Friday regarding a surge in testing that never took place, and 650 kits that could have enabled a surge must be sent back because they’re flawed, officials now say.
Caving to Pressure, Flagler Beach and the County Plan to Reopen Beaches on Limited Basis Next Week
After sustaining intense pressure from residents and from county officials, and with beaches reopened to the north and south, Flagler Beach plans to re-open its beach on a limited basis starting Monday morning, as would the county.
Florida Infections Spike to Near Peak Again, Flagler Cases at 52; St. Johns Reopens Beaches Partially
Flagler County Covid-19 cases are expected to spike a little because of increased testing; AdventHealth Palm Coast’s ICU capacity at 28 percent and total capacity at 30 percent. Flagler County government defends its decision to open some trails as St. Johns opens its beaches for four hours a day, with limited use.
Only 4% of Florida’s Unemployed Have Received Checks Since Losing Their Jobs
The state’s benefit checks of $275 a week remain among the stingiest in the nation. Separately, 23,801 checks have gone out to people who have qualified for federal money under a new federal stimulus law. The federal payments go up to $600 a week.
Covid-19 Peak Pushed Back to May 3; In Flagler, 47 Are Tested at Drive-Up Site and 400 Households Get Food Aid
More details about the first Covid-19 infection affecting a Flagler staffer at a nursing home as the county begins drive-up testing, officials warn relaxing distancing measures, and Palm Coast launches its Rise-Up Palm Coast initiative.
Spike in People Dying at Home Suggests Coronavirus Deaths Are Considerably Higher Than Reported
Coronavirus death counts are based on positive tests and driven by hospital deaths. But data from major metropolitan areas shows a spike in at-home deaths, prompting one expert to say current numbers were just “the tip of the iceberg.”
Get Used To It: Distancing and Masks Are ‘New Normal’ for Coming Year
Florida residents might be social distancing and wearing facemasks for a year because of COVID-19, the state’s top public health officer said Monday.
Oceanfront Property Owners Want Beach Closure Lifted. Federal Judge Says No.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit, including former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, argued that the ordinance is unconstitutional on a series of grounds, including that it violates privacy and due-process rights.
Lawsuit Challenging Florida’s “Poll Tax” on Felon Voting Rights Expanded to Hundreds of Thousands
U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle issued an order last week after saying he intended to grant class certification to plaintiffs, who allege that the 2019 law amounts to an unconstitutional “poll tax.”
Flagler County’s Crime Rate Falls 19% in 2019, After 22% Drop Year Before; Staly Credits Innovations
Much of the crime drop was in non-violent crimes, burglaries and larcenies especially. Vehicle thefts increased 26 percent despite the increasing use of license-plate readers. Rapes increased, and murders matched the previous year’s total: three.
How Do We Exit The Shutdown? Hire An Army Of Public Health Workers
The pandemic has exposed massive cracks in the foundations of the U.S. public health system. Getting the country back to normal, experts say, will require a major investment in Public Health 101: training a corps of workers who can track people with the virus and prevent them from passing it to others.
Second Flagler Resident Dies of Covid-19; Had Been at AdventHealth’s ICU
A second Flagler County resident has died of Covid-19, Flagler Health Department Chief Bob Snyder said this morning. The resident had been in treatment at AdventHealth Palm Coast hospital’s intensive care unit, and died in the early hours of on Easter Sunday.
Coronavirus Traffic Lull Is Accelerating Work on I-4’s Widening Project, Now Nearly a Year behind Schedule
The $2.3 billion project is more than 250 days behind schedule. Sections of the massive Interstate 4 “Ultimate” project will see accelerated work as the state takes advantage of a coronavirus-created reduction in traffic.
Florida Seeing Over 1,000 New Infections a Day as Federal, State and Local Officials Send Clashing Messages
The largest spike of coronavirus cases yet in Flagler-Palm Coast was on Thursday, with seven cases confirmed just that day, for a total of 44. Most of the new cases are the result of local, or community, transmission.
Crush of Initial Claims Push U.S. Unemployment Rate Past 10%, Florida’s Past 7% and Rising
Initial unemployment claims totaled 6.6 million for the week ending April 4 across the nation, and 169,885 in Florida. In the last three weeks, initial claims have totaled 16.8 million in a labor force of 163 million. That equates to an unemployment rate of 10.3 percent, a rate never reached during the Great Recession.
As Florida’s Unemployment Compensation System Collapses, DeSantis Tries to Focus on Improvements
Hundreds of call center operators are being rushed through training, paper applications are being made available and dozens of computer servers were brought from Orlando over the weekend to boost the online system’s capacity.
Drive-In Testing Location Coming to Flagler as Local Cases Reach 34, State Peak Expected on April 21
Previous models had shown the Coronavirus pandemic peaking in Florida the first week of May. The earlier projected peak would mean 3,000 fewer hospitalizations statewide, and a few hundred less ICU-level patients, as well as fewer deaths. But models can change.
Jury Trials and All Other Non-Critical Court Proceedings Suspended at Least Until June
The order extended the suspension of criminal and civil jury trials, jury selection and grand-jury proceedings through May 29. It said circuit and county courts will “continue to perform essential court proceedings.”
HIPAA Heist: Lethal Privacy In the Age of Coronavirus
Misapplications and misinterpretations of the federal medical privacy law known as HIPAA are conspiring to kill more of us than otherwise would die from the coronavirus. And officials are taking advantage of the law to cloak their failures.
Citing Emergency Powers, DeSantis Wants Lawsuit Disputing Beach Closures Tossed Out
The lawsuit was filed by Santa Rosa Beach lawyer Daniel Uhlfelder amid debate about whether groups of beachgoers — including spring break crowds of college students — have worsened the spread of COVID-19, the deadly respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus.
Sheriff Prepares Shift to Enforcement of Quarantine and Stay-Home Orders Amid Questions; Restrictions in Effect Friday
What will enforcement of mandatory stay-home orders look like in Palm Coast and Flagler, for residents and coronavirus-infected individuals? Sheriff Rick Staly and Emergency Management Chief Jonathan Lord have been pouring over the orders in preparation.
DeSantis Orders Stay-at-Home Across Florida, Limiting Activity to All But Essential Services for 30 Days; Palm Coast Holds Virtual Town Hall
Speaking from his office shortly after 1 p.m. today, Gov. Ron DeSantis today said he is issuing an executive order requiring all Floridians to stay at home except to seek “essential services” for the next 30 days.