Florida News – Highlights from around the state – March 16th
Bottom Line: Your daily recap of the some of the biggest news from around the state that impacts you in South Florida.
- Florida’s legislature agreed to a $92 billion budget at the conclusion of Florida’s state session Friday. The session will run into overtime with a final budget vote coming by Thursday. Spending was reduced by around $300 million in response to the coronavirus’s impact to our economy.
- School Districts across Florida have the option of providing supplemental food programs for students, while schools are shut down, for those who generally receive free meals from schools. Starting today, 934 active BreakSpot sites are providing meals statewide. All K-12 schools are closed through at least March 30th.
- Governor Ron DeSantis stated Florida will hold its elections tomorrow. This after Georgia and Louisiana postponed their elections.
- DeSantis has raised EOC operations to their highest level in Florida, activated a task force due to community spread of the virus in Broward and is supportive of restricted domestic travel until the threat of the virus passes.
- Governor DeSantis’s top emergency declaration has activated the Florida National Guard to help assist with response efforts across the state.
- The three state labs processing COVID-19 tests – in Miami, Tampa and Jacksonville, have averaged 300 tests per days thus far. 50 Lab Corp and Quest Labs are offering tests with the ability to process 100 tests a day. This as numerous drive-thru tests are online starting today statewide.