The Florida Department of Health announced on Saturday the state now has 11,545 confirmed coronavirus cases, and 195 deaths. More than half of the cases in the state come from South Florida. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Miami-Dade has a total of 3,890 cases, Broward has 1,765 cases and Palm Beach has 954 – totaling about 6,609 cases.
“It’s getting pretty scary. I see the numbers going up every day and it’s making me nervous. I just wish everyone would follow the rules so everything can back to normal. I want to go to the beach, I want to link up with the fellas, I just want to get out of this house”, said Miami Beach resident, Jerry St. Jean.
As Miami-Dade leads the state in confirmed cases, their death total, however, is not the highest. Palm Beach County sits at the top with 35 deaths, Broward County has 32 deaths, Miami-Dade has 31 deaths and the Florida Keys has two. Just recently, a 39-year-old Broward Sheriff Deputy by the name of Shannon Bennet loss his life from a battle with COVID-19.
With the number of cases steadily rising, local officials are reinforcing Gov. Ron DeSantis’ stay-at-home executive order even more now. There have been reports of Florida residents gathering in public places such as basketball courts and church. “What’s sad is there is always going to be someone who is going to push the limit. That then forces our hand into potentially taking some enforcement action”, said Orlando Chief of Police Orlando Rolon in a press conference.
If out pass the 11 p.m. curfew for any non-essential task, local authorities will hand out stay-at-home flyers for any violators. The flyers will also be given to anyone seen outside in large groups, as a means of educating the public. The stay-at-home order will expire of April 30.
Map of COVID-19 cases in Florida with a focus on South Florida. Photo courtesy of floridahealthcovid19.gov.
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