Florida News – Highlights from around the state – April 10th
Bottom Line: Your daily recap of the some of the biggest news from around the state that impacts you in South Florida.
- While earlier peaks in COVID-19 cases are being projected across the country, the most recent guidance for Florida’s peak remains April 21st. 11 more days of increases in cases are expected. The most recent forecasting from the University of Washington’s model, was backed by University of South Florida researchers yesterday.
- Governor DeSantis held open the possibility of grade school students returning to schools before the end of the school year. The state’s current virtual education order is in force through May 3rd, holding open the possibility that schools may reopen after that date. Echoing what Florida Education Commissioner Richard Cochran told me earlier this week – he believes there would be value in returning to classrooms, if possible before the end of the year.
- 1st time unemployment claims filed in Florida totaled 170,000 last week – that's down more than 58,000 claims from the prior week – which likely underscores the issues with the inability for many Floridians to file under the previous DEO website. Several states had greater than double the processed claims of Florida over the past week. The state’s new website does appear to be stable and successfully processing claims.
- A crew member of the Zaandam cruise ship who’d contracted COVID-19 on the ship died in Broward yesterday. The Zanndam and Rotterdam were allowed into Port Everglades last week. Four people aboard the ship have died due to the coronavirus.