Florida News – Highlights from around the state – April 22nd
Bottom Line: Your daily recap of the some of the biggest news from around the state that impacts you in South Florida.
- In Tuesday’s Re-Open Florida Task Force meeting, Visit Florida’s CEO Dana Young outlined Florida’s own three phase plan for a resurgence in Florida businesses. Phase one is waiting on the word that it’s ok to begin to reopen. Phase two activates when the safer-at-home orders are lifted across our state and will call on Floridians to patronize businesses throughout the state – including in-state vacations. Phase three happens when international travel restrictions are lifted. Marketing world-wide will begin to encourage people to visit Florida.
- Governor DeSantis declared Florida has flattened the curve of the coronavirus and had this to say on Fox News: People have done a great job and I think we understand that you can do both, you can continue to fight COVID-19, but also get people back to work and have society function again.
- Scripps scientists in Jupiter have scheduled a 4 o’clock webinar this afternoon to announce findings in a just concluded COVID-19 study they believe could result in an effective vaccine.
- According to a study from research firm Volusion, the Miami metro, which includes Broward, Dade & Palm Beach Counties, is the fourth most vulnerable economically in the country. 25% of our workforce is currently considered “at-risk” during the pandemic.Jacksonville, Orlando and Tampa are also in the top ten at risk metros in the country.
- St. Augustine has begun a pilot program to monitor temperatures of residents in real-time to determine if there are outbreaks. The city distributed 900 thermometers which relay temperatures of residents to city officials in real-time using an internet connection.