Forty-four percent of hotel workers in every state are expected to lose their jobs, or already have lost their jobs, due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the hospitality industry, according to the American Hotel and Lodging Association. In Florida, 88,631 hotel direct operations jobs will be lost, with 305,146 hotel-supported jobs at risk, the association said, citing research by Oxford Economics. Based on current occupancy estimates, the association said four million total jobs nationwide have been eliminated already or are on the verge of being lost in the next few weeks.
Gov. Ron DeSantis followed the precedent of states like California, New Jersey, Minnesota and many others Friday, closing all gyms and dine-in restaurants to mitigate the effects of Covid-19. DeSantis issued Executive Order 20-71, ordering restaurants and food establishments within the State of Florida to suspend on-premises food and alcohol consumption. Establishments are, however, allowed to operate their kitchens for delivery or take-out options
DeSantis also lifted the restrictions for specially licensed food service establishments to sell alcohol for delivery or take-out off-premises. To-go or delivery alcohol sales with food will be permitted, and will require an I.D.
The order requires the closure of the all gyms and fitness centers throughout the state, unless part of a hotel, residential building, police station, or single-occupancy office building.
Read the details of the order here: DeSantis Executive Order 20-71Following the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners' decision to close public beaches effective Friday night at 11:59 p.m., the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority announced it will immediately discontinue the free Park & Ride Spring Break Service, which provides free trolley service from downtown Clearwater to Clearwater beach. PSTA will continue to provide its regular service. That schedule can be seen here. PSTA also will continue regular service of the Jolley Trolley and Suncoast Beach Trolley. In order to reduce crowding and bunching, all transit services in Pinellas County are free. Customers are encouraged to use the back door of the bus to enter and exit.
BayCare Health System is postponing elective surgical procedures starting today and continuing through April 30 at its hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers. BayCare said the move is intended to serve the public’s health amid the coronavirus pandemic. The change applies to procedures that can be delayed without danger to the patient and includes elective surgeries, screening colonoscopies,
Taubman Centers (NYSE: TCO) is temporarily closing most of the company’s U.S. shopping centers, including International Plaza in Tampa, in response to Covid-19. The closures took effect Thursday night and and will continue through March 29, or later if required by state or local government, Taubman said in a news release. "We are clearly in unprecedented times and this is right decision for our shoppers, retailers, employees and these communities," said Robert S. Taubman, chairman, president and CEO. Two open-air, street-front retail centers in Kansas City, Mo. and in Waikiki, Hawaii may continue to operate, the company said.
The Pinellas County board of county commissioners voted unanimously late Thursday to close all public beaches from Saturday, March 21 to April 6. The full story is here.
Tampa General Hospital temporarily is implementing new visitor rules, to prevent community spread of Covid-19 coronavirus. Under the new rules adult patients can designate one support person who will be the patient’s only approved visitors. For pediatric patients, including babies in the neonatal intensive care unit, both parents can be approved visitors. For patients giving birth, their partner and a certified birth assistant can be present during delivery, and the partner can remain after delivery. No other visitors will be allowed and each approved visitor must provide photo identification. TGH also is suspending all elective surgeries for out-of-state patients.
Florida's small businesses that are adversely impacted by Covid-19 coronavirus can now apply for disaster loans, the U.S. Small Business Administration said. The SBA is offering economic injury disaster loans to help meet working capital needs. The loans offer up to $2 million to help small businesses overcome the temporary loss of revenue resulting from the pandemic. The loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that can’t be paid because of the disaster’s impact. Interest rates offered are as low as 3.75 percent for businesses without credit available elsewhere; businesses with credit available elsewhere are not eligible. The interest rate for non-profits is 2.75 percent. Repayment terms are up to 30 years. To apply, visit the SBA Disaster website at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/
The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority temporarily is going fare-free on all routes beginning March 19 until further advised. The closure is due to the growing threat of Covid-19 coronavirus, PSTA said in a news release. "PSTA’s top priority has always been the safety and wellbeing of our employees and our riders. By temporarily going fare-free, it will reduce crowding by the farebox and limit exposure to passengers and bus operators," the news release said. PSTA is asking that passengers who can to use the back door to get on and off the bus, allowing people with mobility devices and others will have to use the front door to continue to do so.
Simon Property Group (NYSE: SPG) temporarily is closing all of its retail properties, including malls, premium outlets and mills in the United States. That includes Tyrone Square in St. Petersburg, as well as Ellenton Premium Outlets in Manatee County and Tampa Premium Outlets in Lutz. The closure began at 7 p.m. Wednesday night and will end on March 29, a news release said. The company said it made the decision after extensive discussions with federal, state and local officials and in recognition of the need to address the spread of Covid-19. "The health and safety of our shoppers, retailers and employees is of paramount importance and we are taking this step to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 in our communities," said David Simon, chairman, CEO and president of Simon.
A staff member in the University of South Florida Counseling Center on the Tampa campus has tested positive for Covid-19. This employee is self-isolating at home, USF said. The employee, who was not identified, was on campus on Monday, March 9 and Thursday, March 12 and had direct contact with 13 students and several employees, according to USF. The Florida Department of Health is providing will be monitoring those individuals while they continue an investigation to determine if any other USF employees had direct contact with the staff member.
There are now 10 diagnosed cases of Covid-19 coronavirus in Pinellas County, according to the Florida Department of Health. There are seven men and three women, all Pinellas County residents, who range in age from 23 to 67. Four of the cases are travel-related and four of the cases are "known contact" cases. An individual's case can be both a travel-related case and a known-contact case, just one of those or neither of those, or pending investigation, DOH said. As of noon Wednesday, there were a total of 314 confirmed cases in Florida — 289 confirmed cases in Florida residents and 25 cases in non-Florida residents, DOH said.
