RELATED
- COVID-19 cases broken down by city
- Testing sites for COVID-19 in Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe
- Curfew Information
- Stores with dedicated shopping hours for elderly
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (WSVN) — Cases of COVID-19 are increasing so rapidly in South Florida and across the rest of the state that officials are concerned that the Sunshine State could become the next coronavirus hotspot.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said efforts to slow the spread of the virus are taking place across multiple fronts.
“You have Floridians across the state who are sacrificing tremendously,” he said. “I mean, the schools are closed, you can’t go to a restaurant. You look at South Florida, it’s basically entirely locked down.”
As of Saturday evening, there are 4.038 cases tallied statewide, with of 1,007 of those cases in Miami-Dade County and 801 in Broward. That’s more than 400 new cases between the two counties over the last 24 hours.
Johns Hopkins University has Florida ranking fourth for the most cases nationwide, behind New York, New Jersey and California.
The latest figures come a day after North Miami resident Israel Carrera died of the virus. He was 40 years old.
“Israel was a very hardworking. He was full of energy, and he was working 13, 14 hours a day, so he could provide for himself and provide for his family back in Cuba,” said Franco Conquista, Carrera’s partner.
Health officials believe Carrera might have contracted the virus after attending the Winter Party Music Festival in early March.
“He was at the hospital for four or five days. Then they put him to sleep because he was really agitated, and then he never woke up again,” said Conquista.
At least 54 people have died of coronavirus in Florida, including at least three in Miami-Dade and 11 in Broward.
Earlier this week, DeSantis said a statewide stay-at-home order in Florida would be “inappropriate,” but on Saturday, he ordered checkpoints along Interstates 10 and 95 in an effort to deter travelers mostly from the New York area from coming to the state.
Anyone with questions and concerns about the coronavirus can call the Florida Department of Health’s 24-hour hotline at 1-866-779-6121.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.