SHARE:
Wednesday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
Weeks into spring break, adults under 50 spur COVID rise in Florida tourism hubs
Florida’s pandemic month of March has been defined by the dueling dynamics of a mass vaccination effort focused on older people and a tourism surge to the metro areas of Miami, Tampa and Orlando, among other locales. Those forces appear to have come to a head over the last week, with a rise in cases among people under 50 after months of decline, driving an uptick in the number of tests coming back positive and cementing transmission of the virus at a fairly high level, especially in Miami. [Source: Miami Herald]
Florida rescinds nursing home visitation orders
Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration has swept away four emergency orders dealing with visitors to nursing homes, just days before the Legislature is poised to pass a bill that would help shield the facilities from lawsuits associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The administration has told the nursing-home industry to abide by recently issued federal guidelines that allow visitors to touch fully vaccinated residents. Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Jared Moskowitz issued an order on Monday rescinding the four orders he issued last year. [Source: News Service of Florida]
As travel resumes, airport restaurant employees are being called back to work. But not in Orlando.
Kourtney “Koko” Monroe had been furloughed for most of 2020 when a strange job posting caught her eye. It was for her old job, bartending at the Outback Steakhouse inside Orlando International Airport, the same one she’d been let go from in March when the pandemic hit. She tried applying for it, but the message was clear: She wasn’t getting her job back no matter how much she wanted it. Her employer HMSHost, one of the country’s largest operators of airport concessionaires, was replacing laid-off workers with new hires and going back on what company executives initially said would happen. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]
Federal officials to help study why so many Florida manatees are dying
Federal officials will help investigate an alarming spike in Florida manatee deaths, according to an Orlando area congresswoman. At least 432 manatees had died as of March 5, the state reported, nearly 300 more than the 5-year average for the same period. Many of the dead manatees have turned up in Brevard County, where experts believe the animals are going without a crucial food source because harmful algal blooms have killed off seagrass beds. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]
See what coastal Florida roads will flood because of sea level rise in 2040 and 2060
Florida could have hundreds of miles of its road inundated by floodwaters in the next two decades as climate change and sea level rise continue to threaten coastal areas, according to estimates from the University of Florida’s GeoPlan Center. Search the map to see predictions for your neighborhood based on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association’s intermediate high sea level rise projection, the estimate most commonly used by infrastructure designers in Southeast Florida. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› No-shows for COVID-19 vaccine appointments in Sarasota County are on the rise
As more COVID-19 vaccine appointments open up daily around Sarasota County, public health officials say they’re encountering a recurring issue: no-shows. Those details emerged at a Sarasota County Commission meeting on Tuesday. Chuck Henry, a Florida Department of Health Officer in Sarasota County, did not say how many people aren’t showing up to appointments. Henry also did not say what happens to unused vaccines after people fail to show meet their appointments.
› Bitcoin exchange FTX’s $135M deal for Miami Heat arena revealed: Where will money go?
The FTX cryptocurrency exchange negotiated a $135 million naming-rights deal for the Miami Heat’s arena under a county agreement that would reserve the sponsorship money for combating gun violence and poverty in Miami-Dade, according to documents released Tuesday.
› JaxPort and Volusia County agree to promote Florida logistics
The Jacksonville Port Authority signed an agreement March 22 with Volusia County that establishes a relationship to promote each other’s business. A news release said the goal of the partnership is to attract more international business to Volusia and bring more Florida-bound cargo through JaxPort. Volusia County is along the East Coast below Flagler County, between the Atlantic Ocean and St. Johns River.
› The band plays on at SeaWorld Orlando, even as the singer must keep his mask on
When Justin “JB” Braun plays in the band, all masked up, his fitness tracker tells him it’s like he’s riding a bike or in the middle of some intense aerobics. Being a drummer was always physical, but now, his heart beats even faster during the pandemic. But Braun and his Beemo bandmates are grateful for the gigs even if it comes with the reality of strict safety precautions as they perform at SeaWorld Orlando’s ongoing food festival this spring.
Go to page 2 for more stories ...
In case you missed it:
