Florida News – Highlights from around the state – April 27th
Bottom Line: Your daily recap of the some of the biggest news from around the state that impacts you in South Florida.
- The state of Florida has opened up an online portal for you to voice your opinion regarding the reopening of our state. Governor DeSantis said public input is “critical” to the state’s decision-making process going forward.
- DeSantis stated Sunday that he’s most focused on the rate of new cases and positive test results – when weighing next steps to reopen the state. He said the positive test rate has dropped essentially in half recently as testing has ramped up across the state. Related he said he’s authorizing pharmacies to administer COVID-19 tests and that testing will continue to increase through May – starting with a shipment of antibody tests the state is scheduled to receive this Friday.
- While Governor DeSantis is weighing the reopening of the state – he did make clear that there won’t be any “mass gatherings” in May. This would allow for the possibility of sports to be played for example but without fans. It would also ensure all entertainment such as concerts and theme parks would remain closed as well.
- Florida’s unemployment website reopens today after having been closed to new claims since Thursday night. Jon Satter, who recently took over the process at the Florida Department of Economic opportunity, stated the state wanted to focus on getting pending claims processed before reopening. In the most recent reporting from the state 31% of claims had been processed but fewer than 1 in 5 had been paid.