Florida News that impacts you – July 7th
Bottom Line: Your daily recap of the some of the biggest news from around the state that impacts you in South Florida.
- Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran ordered public schools statewide to reopen next month. He stated: There is a need to open schools fully to ensure the quality and continuity of the educational process, the comprehensive well-being of students and families and a return to Florida hitting its full economic stride. Under the state’s mandate schools will be required to open a minimum of five days per week to provide traditional classroom instruction. Under the order schools will be required to implement safety protocols offered by the Florida Department of Health and local officials. Parents will have the option to enroll their children in online learning.
- Miami-Dade is rolling back the reopening process tomorrow. Mayor Carlos Gimenez has ordered all gyms, short-term rentals and restaurants dining rooms closed effective Wednesday. The county’s beaches are still reopening from the Independence Day weekend closures today.
- While all Florida Universities recently had reopening plans approved for the fall semester, FAMU became the first to rescind its reopening plans. The school will remain completely virtual through at least the fall semester.
- According to the Florida Department of Health, the average age of a newly diagnosed Floridian with COVID-19 is 21. The recent rise of cases with younger Floridians has dropped the average age to 39 since testing began in March.
- The Florida Democratic Party received between $350,000-$1 million in PPP money after applying for grants from the program aimed to help small businesses and nonprofits through the pandemic. The information was received through a freedom of information act request. Florida’s Republican party didn’t apply to the program.