Florida News – Highlights from around the state – April 23rd
Bottom Line: Your daily recap of the some of the biggest news from around the state that impacts you in South Florida.
- Day two of the Re-Open Florida Task Force focused on how specific industries should go about reopening once given the opportunity to do so. There were three different tiers of discussion. Reopening of public spaces such as beaches and parks, followed by appointment-based businesses and those which are lightly trafficked, along with high-traffic businesses up to and including theme parks. Universal’s CEO said the company has already been working on plans for virtual lines, mobile food ordering, temperature checks and daily visitor caps.
- In the latest Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation report – they’re offering a recommended date of June 11th in Florida, for a relaxation of current lockdown efforts based on current data. This is more than a month later than Florida’s current pacing against President Trump’s 3-Phase plan.
- Publix announced they will start buying milk and produce from Florida’s farmers to donate directly to Feeding America food banks in the states they operate in. This is part of a continued effort to support Florida’s hard-hit agriculture industry while continuing to contribute to food banks which continue to have high demand during the pandemic. Publix already had doubled its charitable support from one to $2 million for the Feeding America’s network prior to this latest initiative.
- The Florida Aquarium announced they’ve reproduced an endangered coral reef species for the first time in captivity. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission rescued the Rigid Cactus coral from the Florida reef tract during a 2014 disease outbreak. They recently began to spawn and has continued for over a week.