TreasureCoast Covid 19 Update April 7 2020

The Department of Health has created a community action survey called “Stronger than C-19”.

This short, 2 minute, online survey is a tool to track trends and flatten the curve.

Please take and share this survey, available here: https://floridahealthcovid19.gov/

The

interactive dashboard can be found here: https://fdoh.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/8d0de33f260d444c852a615dc7837c86

More than 13-thousand cases of the coronavirus are now reported in Florida. The state Department of Health says 254 people have died.

———
TreasureCoast Covid 19 Update April 7 2020

;Governor DeSantis says progress is being made in improving the state’s overwhelmed unemployment computer system. DeSantis says 72 new servers were brought in from Orlando to increase the website’s capacity, and recruited hundreds of workers from other state departments to help out.

——

As the outbreak continues, Florida Fuel prices continue to drop sharply.

90 percent of gas stations statewide are selling regular for less than two dollars per gallon.

————

With so many people now working and learning online using platforms like Zoom, security can be an issue. Attorney General Ashley Moody says there are ways to help prevent people from hacking online meetings–or “Zoom bombing.

And Moody says to make sure your home wifi is secured with a strong password.
TreasureCoast Covid 19 Update April 7 2020

————

Florida Parents trying to put money aside for their kids’ college education are getting a break. They won’t have to make their Florida Prepaid College payments during the pandemic. All payments are being deferred until July.

————

Volusia County government is relaxing beach access restrictions. Residents are now able to exercise on the beach. They were closed completely last week to keep the virus from spreading.

————

As medical workers across Florida continue to battle the spread of COVID-19, an unknown number of health workers here are falling ill to the virus. But Florida’s Department of Health (FDOH) is working to change that. In a new set of county guidelines issued late Friday, the FDOH is now requiring all healthcare providers and facilities to, “immediately report all COVID-19 cases” that involve medical workers and public safety employees including but not limited to law enforcement and firefighters.
The requirement also requires the reporting of people who live and work in long terms care facilities, senior living centers, shelters and correctional facilities who house people “at high risk of severe outcomes,” according to the guidelines from the FDOH. The new mandate comes just one day after we discovered no one in the state was tracking medical workers and first responders who tested positive for the virus.
TreasureCoast Covid 19 Update April 7 2020

—————————

Last week, Lt. Governor Jeanette M. Nuñez addressed testing availability for health workers but made no mention of how many of them have tested positive. Governor Ron DeSantis also recently expressed his concern for health workers being exposed to the virus but couldn’t add any details quantifying just how many healthcare workers have fallen ill to the virus.

————————

Martin County quietly reopened its public boat ramps Monday without any public notification. County Administrator Taryn Kryzda said she asked the parks department to remove barriers Monday morning. Electronic signs remained in place, however, telling people the boat ramps were still closed. Martin County commissioners will meet this morning to decide whether or not the ramps will remain open or if they will stay closed. Martin County has gone back and forth on how it is handling boat ramp closures in the county.
Last weekend, the boat ramps closed to recreational boaters. The ramps reopened during the week. Following the governor’s order, Martin County closed the ramps again over the weekend, intending to keep them closed for the foreseeable future. Kryzda said she decided to open the ramps after getting the chance to better understand the governor’s order over the weekend.
Originally, the county did not think it had the ability to be less restrictive than the order that was issued. Kryzda said county leaders got more clarification over the weekend that the county could have its own control over whether ramps stayed open or closed. Neighboring counties have not changed their decisions surrounding boat ramps. Palm Beach County has kept boat ramps closed to recreational boaters. St. Lucie County has not yet closed any boat ramps.

———————————
TreasureCoast Covid 19 Update April 7 2020

The world is yearning to get back to normal, but what will normal mean when mitigation efforts are eased amid the spread of COVID-19?

While members of the White House coronavirus task force are hopeful that its social distancing guidelines will minimize the spread of the virus, there is concern that a second wave will return.

Adding to the fact that a vaccine likely will not be widely available for many months, perhaps even years, adds to those concerns.

Although the current wave of coronavirus is killing more than 1,000 Americans per day, there is unease that the virus could be a repeat of the 1918 flu pandemic, which saw a second wave that was much deadlier than the first.

But would things shutdown the way they are now if a second wave comes before a vaccine is ready? If you ask Dr. Anthony Fauci, the answer is no.

Dr. Fauci, the White House’s infectious disease expert, said on Monday that while Americans may need to prepare for a new normal, he does not expect that current mitigation efforts will need to be replicated for a second wave. While his declaration is promising, he also suggested getting back to life the way life was before the spread of COVID-19 might not happen until a vaccine.

———————

Not only is Rocky’s Sub Shop in Palm City still open, they’re raising money and taking donations to help feed first responders. The money donated and lunches bought for first responders will be matched by the shop and delivered. Rocky’s Sub Shop will be donating lunch three days this week to Martin County Fire Station 21 in Palm City and to the teachers at Apple Tree Academy one day this week as well.

———————————————
TreasureCoast Covid 19 Update April 7 2020

The Department of Labor says that states will begin administering $600 weekly payments to many of those receiving state unemployment, which will be on top of standard unemployment checks issued by the states. The payments are part of the CARES Act, which Congress voted on last month and Trump signed on March 27. When the payments will be available will vary by state, as the federal government works with the states to administer the program.
The program will run through the end of July. The additional $600 payments will be available to those receiving standard unemployment from states, in addition to those receiving payments from the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC); Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA); Extended Benefits (EB); ShortTime Compensation (STC); Trade Readjustment Allowances (TRA); Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA); and payments under the Self-Employment Assistance (SEA) program.

The program is being fully funded by the federal government. As states begin providing this payment, eligible individuals will receive retroactive payments back to their date of eligibility or the signing of the state agreement, whichever came later, according to the Department of Labor. Nearly 10 million Americans have applied for unemployment benefits in recent weeks. That number will likely climb on Thursday as many Americans have been unable to file for unemployment as many states are struggling to keep up with unemployment applications.

Continue the conversation on TreasureCoast Facebook

Please go to our Covid-19 information center for more info