STATEWIDE — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a recommendation on Sunday that in-person events consisting of 50 or more people should be canceled by groups or organizers for the next eight weeks to curb the spread of coronavirus.

 

The agency specified that events of any size should only be continued if they can be carried out with adherence to guidelines for protecting vulnerable populations, hand hygiene, and social distancing. 

The recommendation does not extend to schools, businesses, or institutes of higher learning.

Read the entire CDC recommendation below:

Mass Gatherings Document FINAL by Felix Albuerne Jr on Scribd

 

FEDERAL RESERVE SLASHES SHORT-TERM RATES

The Federal Reserve took emergency action Sunday and slashed its benchmark interest rate by a full percentage point to nearly zero and announced it would purchase more Treasury securities to encourage lending to try to offset the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

The central bank said the effects of the outbreak will weigh on economic activity in the near term and pose risks to the economic outlook. The central bank said it will keep rates at nearly zero until it feels confident the economy has weathered recent events.

The Fed also said it will purchase $500 billion of Treasury securities and $200 billion of mortgage-backed securities to smooth over market disruptions that have made it hard for banks and large investors to sell Treasuries.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

39 NEW CASES IN FLORIDA

The total number of positive COVID-19 cases rose in Florida overnight, according to the Florida Health Dept. 

This as  Gov. Ron DeSantis announced several measures Saturday to aid in stopping the spread.

The 39 new cases include the first known case in Citrus County, new cases in Volusia, Orange, Hillsborough, and Pasco counties, and 23 new cases in Broward, Collier and Miami-Dade counties.

While 19 of the new cases were patients over 50, this latest batch included a growing number of younger patients, including nine patients under the age of 25. 

Meanwhile, a 77-year-old man in Lee County has died from the virus, it was announced Saturday. It's the second death in that county.

DeSantis said that visitation to nursing homes, assisted living facilities, adult family-care homes, long-term care facilities and adult group homes is prohibited for the next 30 days. 

The governor said he wants the Department of Health to bring in more epidemiologists to help during the current emergency. He added that cases are coming in from other states, primarily New York. There are also cases from Egypt, Asia and Ireland.

DeSantis said he has ordered transportation officials to suspend driver license renewal for 30 days. "We don't want people to have to worry about that right now," he said while coronavirus fears persist.

TSA WORKER AT ORLANDO AIRPORT TESTS POSITIVE

The Transportation Safety Administration said Saturday that a TSA employee based at Orlando International Airport tested positive for COVID-19.

TSA says the worker last worked at the checkpoint west location at the airport on March 10 from 1 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. The west checkpoint services Gates 1-59. 

In a prepared statement, TSA said: "This afternoon, after communication with the TSA Chief Medical Officer, the CDC and the Orange County Public Health Department, Federal Security Director Pete Garcia notified Orlando International Airport TSA employees that a Transportation Security Officer received an initial positive test for COVID-19.

"The officer is at home resting and will remain home until cleared by a doctor. FSD Garcia also identified the officers who were in close contact with the impacted officer, and has advised them to stay home and self-observe for the next 14 days."  

DOCTOR SAYS TRUMP TESTS NEGATIVE FOR CORONAVIRUS

President Donald Trump has tested negative for the new coronavirus, according to the president’s personal physician.

The White House released the test results Saturday night after Trump told reporters hours earlier that he had taken the coronavirus test, following days of resisting being screened despite the fact that he had been in recent contact with three people who have tested positive for the virus, including members of the Brazilian president’s delegation who visited with him at his Florida resort.

“One week after having dinner with the Brazilian delegation in Mar-a-Lago, the President remains symptom-free,” Sean Conley, the president’s physician, said in a memo.

Trump told reporters at a White House briefing on Saturday that he had his temperature taken and it was “totally normal,” shortly before stepping into the room to discuss the government’s efforts to halt the spread of the virus. The pandemic has now infected more than 2,200 people in the U.S. and caused at least 50 deaths.

 

TRUMP SAYS TRAVEL BAN EXTENDED

The United States will extend its European travel ban to the United Kingdom and Ireland on Monday night at midnight.

President Trump and Vice President Pence made the announcement after a the Coronavirus Task Force met Saturday.

Travel from the UK and Ireland will be prohibited Monday night at midnight EST, according to the White House. It will not affect American citizens who are returning from those countries. 

The president says he is also not ruling out domestic travel bans in areas with critical outbreaks. 

The UK travel ban will have an immediate impact at the major airports. Orlando International Airport says it will affect four to five flights a day.

25 NEW CASES OF CORONAVIRUS IN FLORIDA

Florida announced 25 new cases of the novel coronavirus overnight, bringing the total number of positive cases in Florida to 77.

According to the Florida Department of Health, a 41-year-old Orange County man and a 54-year-old man in Osceola County have tested positive for COVID19.

Both are being isolated, stated the department in a news release, adding it is not sure if these are travel-related cases.

Manatee County saw two new COVID-19 positive cases, stated the department.  A 67-year-old woman “is a travel related case and is associated with domestic travel,” stated the department. 

The second case involves a 62-year-old woman, but it is not travel related.

Both are being isolated.

Meanwhile, a 29-year-old man in Volusia County tested positive and his case is listed as travel related because he was “associated with close contract with a traveler.”

As with other cases, he is being kept in isolation. 

The department did not release further information in its news release.

There were also several new cases in Palm Beach, Broward, Manatee, Volusia, and Miami-Dade counties.

An Orange County woman who had visited Asia and tested positive for COVID-19 died in California. She was 68 years old. 

US HOUSES PASSES ECONOMIC RELIEF BILL

The House approved a bill to provide direct economic relief to Americans dealing with the pandemic after President Trump tweeted his approval.

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act passed 3636 to 40 and now goes to the Senate, but won't be voted on until next week. The Senate is supposed to return to Washington Monday.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi negotiated the bill with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

The aid package includes:

  • Funds to cover COVID-19 testing, including for those without health insurance. 
  • Additional money for SNAP and WIC benefits, the emergency food assistance program, and for school meals.
  • Flexibility to loosen SNAP requirement rules in a public health emergency.
  • Emergency paid sick leave for employees that may or have symptoms of coronavirus, or is self-isolating because a family member has been diagnosed. 
  • Paid emergency family and medical leave, after 14 days of leave that may be unpaid. 
  • Unemployment expansion.

Among the "NAYs" was Rep. Michael Waltz, whose U.S. House district covers Volusia, Flagler and part of Lake counties, and Rep. Greg Steube, whose district includes part of Polk County. 

Among those who didn't vote include Rep. Matt Gaetz of District 1, Rep. Francis Rooney of District 19, and Rep. Ted Yoho of District 3. 

You can read the bill for yourself on Congress's website.

TRUMP DECLARES A NATIONAL EMERGENCY

President Donald Trump said the move will open access to $50 billion to help states fight the virus. He said he is also asking all hospitals to activate their emergency preparedness plan to help meet the needs of Americans.

The president added that the emergency orders will give new authority to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, who can wave laws to give doctors and hospitals the flexibility to respond to the virus and care for patients. 

SCHOOLS SHUT DOWN

The Florida Department of Education has directed schools statewide to close their doors for two weeks, according to press releases from several counties in Tampa and Central Florida. During the closure, the state said schools should cancel all extracurricular activities, as well as thoroughly clean their campuses.

Schools are set to reopen on Monday, March 30. State testing will also reportedly be delayed by at least two weeks.

Since many school districts' spring breaks begins next week, they will extend their spring break by a week to meet the two-week closure directive.

The Department of Education also said anyone going on foreign travel or cruise travel should self-isolate upon their return. 

Orange County Public Schools and Brevard Public Schools said SAT testing at sites in its district will continue Saturday as scheduled. Osceola County Schools canceled any testing within its district Saturday.

STATE MEASURES

Also Friday, Gov. Ron DeSantis provided an update on the coronavirus in Florida, including the latest specific numbers.

He said there are 51 cases in Florida, with 45 of those people being Florida residents. About 220 people are currently being tested, and about 365 are being monitored. Nearly 500 people have been tested with the result negative.

DeSantis also predicts more cases of the virus next week and said the state has received 1,000 of the 2,500 kits that have been ordered.

Florida Chief Justice Charles Canady suspended face-to-face legal proceedings in state courts for at least two weeks. The order goes into effect Friday and "will be extended or modified as needed in the future and is subject to existing constitutional requirements," according to a spokesperson for the Florida Supreme Court.

CENTRAL FLORIDA RESIDENT DIES IN CALIFORNIA

Meanwhile, a Central Florida resident who had tested positive for the coronavirus after traveling and contracted COVID-19 died in California, said Orange County, Florida, officials as they declared a local state of emergency.

Both Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings and Orange County Health Department officer Raul Pino said during a news conference Friday afternoon that the Orange County resident had traveled to South Korea and was screened in California when they returned to the U.S. They did not travel on to Florida after testing positive for the virus. The person, whose identity has not been released, died after being placed in isolation.

The person traveled to South Korea and when returning to the U.S. in California tested positive for the virus. Pino stressed that at no point was the person ever in Florida while having the virus and was in California when infected and when the person died.

The news comes as Orange County officials and city of Orlando officials declared a state of emergency for those municipalities.

The virus has caused one of the world's most popular theme parks to close in response to the COVID-19.

In a Thursday statement, a Disney spokesperson said the company is closing Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Paris Resort, effective at close of business Sunday, March 15, through the end of the month. Disney Cruise Line is also suspending its new departures starting Saturday, March 14 through the end of the month.

Earlier that day, the company announced that Disneyland in California would be doing the same.

Universal Orlando Resort followed suit, announcing they will temporarily close its parks, effective at the close of business on Sunday, March 15. Park officials said they expect their parks to remain closed through the end of the month.