TreasureCoast Covid 19 Update March 26, 2019
Senator Marco Rubio supported the two-trillion-dollar coronavirus bailout package that has passed the Senate overnight. The Florida Republican made that clear in a floor speech prior to the vote
He said the COVID-19 virus doesn’t discriminate and threatens the heir to the British throne as much as it does a retiree in a Florida nursing home.
The number of coronavirus cases in Florida is about to hit two-thousand. As of last night, there were 19-hundred-77 cases statewide, with 23 deaths.
Another Central Florida county is telling its residents to shelter in place. Osceola County announced yesterday a Stay-at-Home order went into effect at 11:00 Wednesday evening, and it will be in effect until April 9th. A similar order began in Orange County last night. .
The President has approved the governor’s request for a Major Disaster Declaration for Florida making the state eligible for FEMA money which includes unemployment assistance.
One million medical masks are being shipped to Florida and will soon be distributed statewide. Governor Ron DeSantis says it’s been a challenge to get them.
DeSantis spoke at a logistics center in Orlando. That’s where teams are working 24-7 to get supplies to hospitals, nursing homes, and other medical facilities across the state.
The mayor of Miami-Dade County is promising action to enforce a Stay-at-Home order. Mayor Carlos Gimenez says police have been instructed to issue warnings to those that don’t comply, and further action could be taken against repeat offenders.
Today was supposed to be opening day for Major League Baseball’s 2020 regular season. The schedule called for the Tampa Bay Rays to host the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Miami Marlins to entertain the Philadelphia Phillies. But thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, there will be no baseball today at Tropicana Field or Marlins Park. There’s no word when the MLB season will start.
Virtual classes begin next week for public school students in Florida. School districts on the Treasure Coast and the Palm Beach County School District are working to make sure every student has access to a laptop so they can join in on their virtual lessons.
The School District of Palm Beach County, which said it needs more laptops, has received a $30,000 donation from the Honda Classic to go toward supplying laptops to students.
It also announced this week that it has received more than $20,000 through individual donations and more than $3,000 from local Walmart stores. It is also accepting gently-used laptop and tablet donations.
Martin County School District Superintendent Laurie Gaylord said Palm Beach County school officials reached out to Martin County to see if it had any laptops to spare.
Now, Martin County is also having to take a step back from its original goal to give as many individual students as possible their own laptop. Now, the Martin County School District is providing one laptop per family.
Laptop distribution kicked off Wednesday in Martin County.
Meat shelves are bare and everyday products continue to fly off the shelves. It is one of the most visual impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on everyday life.
Workers at Star Distribution in Plant City say they’ve never seen inventory come in and go out so quickly.
In the supply-and-demand chain, they are the middleman providing products to more than 300 retailers around the state — from appliances and pharmaceuticals to food.
Experts say the speed of manufacturing products to delivering them is now getting faster, which means you, the consumer, should hopefully start seeing the products you need on store shelves more frequently.
A bill that will give many Americans a $1,200 check in the upcoming days finally got the green light from the US Senate late Wednesday after days of wrangling between the two parties. All 96 senators present voted in favor of the legislation, marking a coveted moment of bipartisanship in Washington. While both parties generally agreed that a one-time check should be sent to a majority of Americans, details on just how many Americans should receive a check, on how much unemployment insurance should be awarded and who would oversee stimulus for businesses were up for debate.
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he will sign the bill into law as soon as Congress sends it to him. The urgently needed bipartisan legislation is the largest economic rescue measure in the country’s history. The last stimulus bill like this was passed during the 2008 financial crisis and amounted to $700 billion.
Under the COVID-19 measure, American adults making less than $75,000 a year would receive $1,200 checks as well as $500 per child to help fill in the gaps for those without a steady income during the crisis. The bill would also create a $367 billion loan program for small businesses. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said small business owners could receive interest free loans.
The legislation would also establish a $500 billion lending fund for industries, cities and states. A Treasury Department special inspector general would be appointed to scrutinize the lending decisions and detect any abusive or fraudulent behavior.
Schumer said an additional $130 billion will be injected into the American healthcare systems to provide desperately needed medical supplies, like ventilators, respirators, personal protective equipment and beds.
About $150 billion will be sent to state and local governments, who are in the front lines of the pandemic.
The Food and Drug Administration said on Wednesday that some people and companies are trying to profit from this pandemic by selling unproven and illegally marketed products that make false claims, such as being effective against the coronavirus. The FDA says that products that claim to cure, treat, or prevent COVID-19 haven’t been evaluated by the FDA for safety and effectiveness, and calls said products “dangerous.” Wednesday’s announcement comes two weeks after the FDA previously announced it sent letters to a number of companies that sell products that allegedly claim to treat or prevent coronavirus. Simply put, if there are any products that claim to treat or cure coronavirus, the FDA says not to buy it. The FDA is requesting the public to report suspected fraud to the FDA’s Health Fraud Program or the Office of Criminal Investigations .
They’re accustomed to performing in front of thousands in packed arenas from city to city. But on Sunday, some of the world’s most popular musicians will perform in a new setting:
Their living rooms.
Elton John will host the concert with performances by Mariah Carey, Billie Eilish, Alicia Keys, Tim McGraw and Billie Joe Armstrong. The benefit concert is being dubbed as “Living Room Concert For America.”
The musicians are being forced away from touring as arenas and stadiums worldwide are being closed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
The benefit concert will air Sunday at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT live on FOX. The concert will benefit Feeding America and First Responders Children’s Foundation.
Florida’s nonprofits are asking that if you can donate, do so. They are suffering amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The trouble comes as the economic downturn forces more people to save money, leading to a drop in donations. Meanwhile, the need for nonprofit services is on the rise. Donations for Ellsworth’s food bank have almost completely dried up in recent days. Her biggest supplier is grocers who no longer have overstocked products to spare. Similar cries for help can be heard across the state and nation. Experts with the National Council of Nonprofits fear COVID-19 may be on the path to creating a charitable crisis up to 100 times worse than the ’08 recession.
The stimulus bill is nearly complete with the White House and Senate supporting the latest language. In it, supports say some wins for nonprofits, including better access to loan programs and allowing more to deduct donations from their taxes.
A popular restaurant chain with multiple locations in Palm Beach County said they will temporarily suspend all operations starting Wednesday evening. Duffy’s Sports Grill, which has 34 locations across Florida, said the last takeout and delivery will conclude at 8 p.m. Wednesday. The statement goes on to say the company has furloughed its restaurant staff but extended health benefits through April 30. Duffy’s said they will also offer its staff the opportunity to take home food for their families from restaurant inventories when service ends Wednesday. Remaining goods will be donated to local hospital commissaries.
One day after a record gain at the (virtual) New York Stock Exchange, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had a more modest day of gains, giving hopes to a shaken stock market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 496 points on Tuesday, a gain of 2.39 percent over yesterday’s close. The Dow closed at 21,200 points, which is still a far cry from last month, when the Dow was over 29,000.
