Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced Friday that he would be prohibiting all visitation to nursing homes, assisted living facilities, adult family care homes, longer term care facilities and group homes in Broward County for the next thirty days in an effort to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19. DeSantis also announced he would be mobilizing the Florida National Guard to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. The scope of the mobilization has not yet been determined. DeSantis provided an update regarding testing and cases of coronavirus in Florida. He said there were 17 new cases of COVID-19 in Florida overnight, moving the total number of cases in Florida to 51. There are currently 221 tests pending results, according to the governor, 478 tests with negative results, 1048 individuals have been monitored to date and are no longer being monitored, while 365 individuals are currently being monitored. According to DeSantis, of the tests from community health centers across the state, 90 percent are coming back negative. DeSantis has asked the Florida Surgeon General to expand testing capabilities across the state of Florida, purchase 2500 testing kits with the capacity to process up to 625,000 individuals.
Charter Communications says it will offer free access to Spectrum broadband and WiFi for 60 days, to help households with students impacted directly or indirectly by Covid-19. The free access, which begins Monday, March 16, is for households with K-12 and/or college students who do not already have a Spectrum broadband subscription at any service level up to 100 Mbps. To enroll call 1-844-488-8395. Installation fees will be waived for new student households. It's one of a series of steps Charter (Nasdaq: CHTR) — one of the largest internet providers in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area — has announced to support customers. Charter also said it would partner with school districts to ensure local communities are aware of these tools to help students learn remotely. For eligible low-income households without school-aged children, Charter continues to offer Spectrum Internet Assist, a low-cost broadband program delivering speeds of 30 Mbps. Charter also will open its WiFi hotspots across for public use.
Nova Southeastern University has suspended all classes until Monday, March 23. The suspension applies to all NSU campus locations, a news release said. Last year, NSU opened its new Clearwater campus, home to the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine and the Dr. Pallavi Patel College of Health Care Sciences. When classes resume, they will be online, NSU said.
The Florida Orchestra has canceled all concerts through April 5 to limit the spread of the coronavirus (covid-19). Canceled: March 20-22: Bach’s St. John Passion Masterworks concert; March 25 & 26: Bright Side of Beethoven Coffee Concert; March 27-29: Broadway Pops concert; April 3-5: Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons Masterworks concert; Week of community chamber concerts at hospitals, Tampa International Airport, ZooTampa and R.E. Olds Park. Postponed: March 28: Peter and the Wolf Storytime Series; March 29: String Trio Woodson Chamber Series.
BayCare Health System is putting visitor restrictions in place at all its hospitals. Beginning today, BayCare facilities will start screening visitors for signs and symptoms of COVID-19, the disease resulting from the novel coronavirus. Those who are deemed a risk will be restricted from entering the facility and may be referred to an emergency department, the system said in a news release. All children under the age of 18 also are restricted from visiting in what the system called "an abundance of caution." BayCare said it did not come to this decision lightly. Familial and social connections can be important to patients’ recovery and BayCare said it encourages loved ones to leverage video conferencing, such as FaceTime, to keep in touch with patients. BayCare facilities impacted by the restrictions include St. Anthony's Hospital in St. Petersburg. Other facilities are: Bardmoor Emergency Center, BayCare Alliant Hospital, Mease Countryside Hospital, Mease Dunedin Hospital, Morton Plant Hospital, all St. Joseph’s Hospitals, South Florida Baptist Hospital, Morton Plant North Bay, Bartow Regional Medical Center, Winter Haven Hospital and Winter Haven Women’s Hospital.
Stetson University College of Law is postponing, rescheduling and cancelling all events hosted on campus that primarily are attended by external visitors, effective through March 31, citing coronavirus concerns. The Gulfport law school also has cancelled all non-essential Stetson-sponsored domestic and international travel through the end of the spring term, a notice posted on its website said. Following spring break in Gulfport, all classes will resume on Monday, March 23, via remote instruction, a separate notice from Stetson University said. Both Stetson University and the College of Law classes will continue in an online format through the end of the spring semester on all Stetson campuses.
The PGA Tour cancelled the Valspar Championship, set to take place next week at Innisbrook in Palm Harbor. The decision to cancel the event came late Thursday and changed an earlier decision that the event would be played but without spectators. The Valspar Championship is one of four events, including The Players Championship, that has been cancelled, organizers posted on the event's website. "We did everything possible to create a safe environment for our players in order to continue the event throughout the weekend, and we were endeavoring to give our fans a much-needed respite from the current climate. But at this point – and as the situation continues to rapidly change – the right thing to do for our players and our fans is to pause," the PGA Tour said in a website post.
Eckerd College in St. Petersburg has joined the list of schools halting in-person classroom instruction, at least for now. The school is extending its spring break, which starts March 16, by one week, and will resume classes via remote delivery on March 30, an online announcement said. Students must leave campus no later than noon, March 18, and Eckerd said there is a chance the residence halls could be closed for the rest of the semester. The college said it will will communicate future plans on March 30.
MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa has postponed its annual AirFest event. This year's event was scheduled for March 28-March 29. "Unfortunately, to minimize the spread of COVID-19 and preserve the ability of our service members to meet any and all national defense taskings, we are postponing the 2020 Tampa AirFest until further notice," MacDill posted on Twitter. "This decision was not an easy one, however we are following Department of Defense and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention risk-based guidance." MacDill said there are no current plans to cancel other base events at this time, but it will assess the risk for each gathering.
The National Hockey League will pause the 2019-20 regular season due to the concerns of the coronavirus, the league said Thursday. The decision impacts the Tampa Bay Lightning, which was scheduled to open a three-game homestand tonight at Amalie Arena. The league said its goal is to resume games as soon as possible.
The @NHL pauses 2019-20 season. https://t.co/WMePei4clH pic.twitter.com/W5Hqmk3kX7
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 12, 2020
The Museum of Fine Arts St. Petersburg has canceled all public events through March 31, including performances, talks and demonstrations connected to the ongoing Art of the Stage exhibit. Tickets purchased for any event will be refunded. “At this time, the museum galleries remain open, and we continue to practice expanded cleaning and disinfecting of common public spaces, high-touch areas and restrooms,” museum administration said. “We are asking visitors if they have any cold or flu-like symptoms, for the safety of our staff and other visitors, please remain at home and visit us when they are feeling better.”
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Florida, will self-quarantine after a meeting in Miami Monday with the president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro. Scott said his office was alerted Thursday by the Brazilian Embassy that a member of Bolsonaro’s delegation tested positive for coronavirus. "While I do not believe I interacted with the infected person, that individual was in the same room as me," Scott wrote in a news release. "After consulting with the Senate’s attending physician and my personal doctor, I have been told that my risk is low, and I don’t need to take a test or quarantine. However, the health and safety of the American people is my focus and I have made the decision to self-quarantine in an abundance of caution. I am feeling healthy and not experiencing any symptoms at this time." Scott cancelled a news conference at which he planned to announce legislation to expand access to coronavirus testing. He said he will continue working on that plan.
