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Friday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
› Florida contractors didn’t report 230,000 COVID tests on time during omicron wave
The Florida Department of Health on Monday reprimanded two companies for failing to report more than 230,000 COVID-19 tests taken in December and January. The missing tests could mean that the number of positive COVID-19 cases in Florida was even higher than reported during the state’s omicron wave — the most widespread outbreak to date — which peaked at over 65,000 average daily cases on Jan. 11, according to federal health data.
› 'Moderating' homes market trims median Jacksonville-area house price to $345,000 in January
Jacksonville-area house prices dipped in January despite rising prices for other types of homes, the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors reported. The 1.4 percent drop in median price for single-family homes — to $345,0000 from $350,000 in December — added to signs that the area’s real estate market is cooling after a year of hefty price hikes.
› Why Medicare penalizes some South Florida hospitals that it also gives high ratings
Many of South Florida’s largest hospitals are among the more than 750 medical centers nationwide penalized this year by the federal government for having the highest number of patient infections and potentially avoidable complications. The penalties — a 1% reduction in Medicare payments over 12 months — are based on the experiences of patients discharged from the hospital between July 2018 and the end of 2019, according to data analyzed by Kaiser Health News.
› ‘Daughter of the Regiment’ marches back to Sarasota Opera after 35 years
It has been about 35 years since the Sarasota Opera last presented Gaetano Donizetti’s “The Daughter of the Regiment,” a rare romantic romp amid a season of the more expected dark romantic tragedies, like “Tosca” and “Attila.” “It usually seems to be presented as a vehicle for a star, like a Joan Sutherland or a Beverly Sills,” said director Mark Freiman, who is staging the new production that begins Saturday. “This was a big showpiece for them, and also for tenors. But I think it holds its own.”
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