Florida News that impacts you – July 14th
Bottom Line: Your daily recap of the some of the biggest news from around the state that impacts you in South Florida.
- Amid the highest levels of hospitalizations since the pandemic began in Florida, The Agency for Health Care Administration has approved a new process “waiving service authorization requirements” hospitals were required to receive prior to discharging COVID-19 positive patients who’ve been successfully treated. This move will speed up the process for the transfer of patients to long-term care facilities by an estimated 2-3 days. Statewide bed utilization rates are at 77% with South Florida averaging 80% utilization.
- New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed an executive action which will fine Floridians visiting the state $2,000 if they don’t provide contact information to authorities upon entering the state. New York is ordering self-quarantines for Floridians and residents of eighteen other states.
- The Orlando Immunology Center has joined the federal vaccine testing program for COVID-19 and will be the lab in Florida representing our state. At-risk patients are being sought by the center to participate in the testing program. The Center has a background in HIV, hepatitis and related viral treatments.
- A lawsuit filed by state representative Geraldine Thompson, a Democrat from Orlando, is seeking to stop Florida Supreme Court nominee Renatha Francis, appointed to the court earlier this year by Governor DeSantis, from taking the bench as scheduled September 24th. The suit alleges the Jamaican-American Justice shouldn’t have been included for consideration by the governor by the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Committee because she hadn’t been a member of the Florida bar for ten years. September 24th marks the tenth anniversary for Justice Francis.
- Key West is considering a cruise ship ban. Three referendums have been added to resident’s ballots in November that’d restrict the size of ships, limit the number of passengers on the island from all ships daily and consider the health records of ship operators.