Soon after Gov. Ron DeSantis boasted that Florida avoided a public health disaster in its fight against coronavirus, the state had its second-highest death toll. Florida now has 28,576 coronavirus cases and 927 fatalities. The 60 new deaths reported Wednesday is second to April 14, which was the deadliest day so far with 72 victims.

Early April saw the most new positive test results with roughly 1,200 per day, but the amount of new cases reported varies widely day to day, according to a South Florida Sun Sentinel analysis. On Wednesday, there were more than 700 new positive tests.


Florida continues to expand testing, having given more than 292,000 — third in the nation, but less than 2 percent of Florida’s population.

DeSantis praised Orange County in his Wednesday press conference, saying coronavirus numbers were declining and much lower than expected.


“Orange County with the theme parks?” DeSantis said. “Just think of how many people came through there in January [through] March … All those people from all over the world going there. And you have a situation where it’s down to 24 [new] cases today, 13 the day before. Orange County has 75 total Covid hospitalizations. Central Florida, Orange County, they’ve done a really good job.”

DeSantis also criticized people from the “Acela corridor” in New York and Washington, D.C., who criticized Jacksonville’s decision to reopen its beaches, which led to large numbers of people heading to the beaches on the first day and the Twitter hashtag, “#FloridaMorons.”

He said Jacksonville’s coronavirus numbers were much less than in New York and New Jersey, adding, “I would [stand] with you over the folks critical of you any day of the week.”

Coronavirus Maps of Florida coronavirus cases by ZIP code and county Search for Florida coronavirus patients by ZIP code using this interactive map. Also see hourly updates on confirmed cases, the number of tests conducted and details of each patient. Data including cases in Broward County, Miami-Dade County, Palm Beach County, Orange County, Collier County, Lee County, Manatee County, Pinellas County, Volusia County, Hillsborough County and others.

Nationwide, there are over 840,000 cases and over 46,000 deaths. Worldwide, there are over 2.6 million cases and over 180,000 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University & Medicine Coronavirus Resource Center.

Central Florida cases are up to 3,362, with Orange County leading the region with 1,258, followed by Osceola’s 427, Volusia’s 376, Polk’s 364, Seminole’s 333, Brevard’s 226, Lake’s 214 and Sumter’s 164. On Wednesday, five new Central Florida death was reported, including a 42-year-old man in Orange County with no pre-existing conditions, health officials said. The others were from Orange, Polk, Seminole and Sumter counties between the ages of 72-93. (See details on all Central Florida cases here).

South Florida still accounts for 59 percent of the state’s case total, with 16,956 among Miami-Dade (10,289), Broward (4,254) and Palm Beach (2,413) counties.

The latest projections from an influential coronavirus model have pushed its expected deaths in Florida as well as the nation slightly higher, although data suggests both state and nation have reached the top of the daily death curve, and will see less fatalities from here on out.

The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation out of the University of Washington projections have been used by the Trump administration in crafting its pandemic response. Data updated Tuesday now show Florida’s fatalities will fall between 964 and 2,941 by June 7 with the median deaths projected to be 1,537. Florida’s projected death total had been consistently falling with each update, that assume current social distancing measures in place continue until infections are minimized and containment is implemented.

But a Friday projection of Florida’s median deaths of 1,363 has now turned upward again, although still much lower than the dire 7,000 median deaths projected just a couple of weeks back. The current national projection now falls between 45,375 and 124,118 deaths by July 5 with the median fatalities projected to be 65,976. It had fallen to 60,308 last Friday before nudging back with Tuesday’s data.

As the economic devastation deepens, Florida’s growing army of unemployed workers are in a race against time as their savings dwindle while the agency charged with paying jobless benefits scrambles to fix an overwhelmed application system.

As unemployment surged during the early weeks of the outbreak in the U.S., Florida ranked at or near the bottom of all states in its speed of processing those claims, federal data shows. The state is already among the most inhospitable places to be unemployed, and the economic downturn has only added to the misery. Now Florida finds itself frantically trying to catch up as it lags behind other large states and neighbors in the South.

After taking public heat for weeks for failing to promptly process hundreds of thousands of jobless claims since mid-March, the Department of Economic Opportunity disclosed last week that it sent relief checks to only 40,000 people out of 650,000 claims processed. But in what could be interpreted a sign of progress, the agency disclosed Tuesday that the number of payments more than doubled to nearly 95,000 on Monday. As of Wednesday, more than 108,00 claims have been paid.


Meanwhile, Industry leaders and public officials laid out more plans Wednesday for restarting the Florida economy after the coronavirus shutdown, including plans for temperature-screening and expanding virtual lines at Universal Orlando and holding sports events without fans.

But many also were concerned about the lack of any single standard health guideline for reopening, and several also pushed for the state to protect businesses from lawsuits stemming from restarting work in a pandemic world.

Even as businesses pushed for reopening, however, the public remained wary.

According to a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday, 76% of Florida voters said the state’s economy should only reopen when public health officials declare it safe, compared with 17% who said it should reopen even if public health officials warned against it.

Universal Parks & Resorts chief Josh Sprouls said he doesn’t know when the Universal parks will re-open, but he expects a “slow ramp-up” and limited attendance at first.


He also told a working group of DeSantis’ reopening panel that besides screening and temperature checks for all employees coming into contact with guests, they were looking into whether they could screen all visitors and whether they should recommend masks for guests.


Universal also plans to disinfect rides and attractions throughout the day, promote mobile ordering at counter service restaurants, and “expand” virtual queueing for as many attractions as possible.

Lines would also be reorganized to spread people out, outdoor lines would be used in lieu of indoor queueing areas, and seats would be staggered on the rides and attractions themselves.

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings convened the first meeting Wednesday of his advisory group tasked with charting a course to reopen Central Florida for business.

The group did not set a timeline, but health-care representatives on the panel suggested masks, temperature checks and other enhanced sanitation protocols should remain in place, through the summer, as the region begins to try to reignite a tourism-driven economy that, just months ago, was booming at record levels.

Some in the group were clearly frustrated by the continued uncertainty that has hung over the state for more than five weeks.

“It sounds like it could be weeks and weeks and weeks," Unicorp National Developments’ President Chuck Whittall said of the county’s unspecified dates for letting people get back to work. “I can tell you from what’s in our portfolio, tenants are on the verge of going broke, all of them. I can tell you from the day-cares to the hair salons to the restaurants. I don’t care if it’s a small restaurant or a big restaurant. They are all weeks — weeks not months — from going broke."

Demings said it was important for Whittall and other advisers to understand the possible health consequences of lifting curfews, stay-at-home and social-distancing orders credited with slowing the spread of the virus and saving lives.

In national news, President Trump signed an executive order Wednesday that will temporarily halt the issuance of certain green cards as he uses the coronavirus pandemic to push long-stalled immigration measures during an election year.

You can find a running summary of the latest updates on the coronavirus in the Orlando area and Florida below. Also, sign up for new daily Florida coronavirus update by subscribing to The Health Report newsletter and as-they-happen Breaking News emails at OrlandoSentinel.com/newsletters.

Latest news

President Trump says he ‘disagrees strongly’ with Georgia’s plan to reopen as state is struggling to increase coronavirus testing

President Donald Trump said he told Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp that he “disagreed strongly” with Kemp’s decision to begin allowing some nonessential businesses to soon reopen.

Speaking at a daily White House briefing Wednesday evening, Trump said he told Kemp he had misgivings over the governor's plan, but would not stand in his way.

“The people of Georgia ... have been strong, resolute, but at the same time he must do what he thinks is right,” Trump said of Kemp, a Republican. “I want him to do what he thinks is right. But I disagree with him on what he’s doing. ... But I think (opening) spas and beauty salons and tattoo parlors and barbershops in phase one ... it’s just too soon."

UCF seeks to cut costs as it expects loss of $48.7 million in revenue from coronavirus pandemic

The University of Central Florida, which hasn’t held classes on campus for more than a month, must aggressively cut costs to offset an anticipated $48.7 million in lost revenue through August, trustees told staff on Wednesday.

UCF and campuses across the country have shuttered in an attempt to slow the spread of coronavirus, halting in-person classes, canceling events and urging students to move back home.

Orlando man arrested after breaking curfew for the second time, hitting a deputy, Sheriff’s Office says

A 51-year-old man was arrested in Orange County Tuesday for resisting arrest after breaking curfew, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday.

The agency said Roosevelt Davis was stopped on two different days for being outside past the curfew.

Corrine Brown released from Central Florida prison over COVID-19 concerns: report

Jacksonville’s ABC affiliate First Coast News is reporting that sources tell them former U.S. Congresswoman Corrine Brown has been released from prison more than two years early because of coronavirus concerns.

Brown’s lawyer had filed and withdrawn a motion for compassionate release of the 73-year-old, who was serving time for fraud convictions, and not due for release until May 2022 at the minimum-security women’s prison camp at the Coleman Federal Correctional Institution in Sumter County.

Brown’s district included parts of Central Florida. She was found guilty in 2017 of 18 counts of conspiracy, wire fraud and tax crimes related to a charity One Door For Education.

Read more at FirstCoastNews.com.

Disney gets it right during pandemic; Visit Orlando gets it really wrong | Commentary

Today we have a tale of two tourism titans — one that’s getting it right when it comes to leadership during a pandemic and one that’s getting it really, really wrong.

The first, Disney, has led the way in public safety.


The second, Visit Orlando, is continuing its terrible habit of hiding information from the public — a prospect even more troubling now that Mayor Jerry Demings put Visit Orlando’s CEO atop a task force charged with reopening Central Florida’s economy.

AdventHealth to open more drive-up testing sites in Lake, Polk and Flagler

AdventHealth is expanding its community testing with four new locations for COVID-19 test opening in the next week.

Locations for the new testing sites will be Osceola Heritage Park (April 23), Lake-Sumter State College in Leesburg (April 24), Posner Park in Davenport (April 28) and Flagler/Palm Coast campus of Daytona State College (April 29).

UCF secondary coach says his players have been directly impacted by coronavirus

The UCF football team is not immune to the devastating impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

“We’ve had some issues. Some real-life issues with guys in our group — a family [member] that’s sick and lost somebody and we’ve had to deal with it,” UCF secondary coach Willie Martinez said Wednesday during a video conference with reporters.

Officials project Port Canaveral in good position for slow rebound of cruise industry

When the cruise industry eventually returns to sailing, Port Canaveral officials expect the public to be timid, but that short cruises are the key, and Orlando’s backyard port is in a good position to take advantage of that.

Port CEO John Murray spoke during the Port Canaveral Commission meeting Wednesday, projecting that cruise lines, which have all pushed their return-to-cruise plans now to late June, will need to rely on three- and four-night cruises to get people back on the ships.

Nearly 25% of all unemployment claims in Florida have been filed by tourism workers

Coronavirus’ impact on the tourism industry has been fast and deep. With theme parks shuttered, restaurant dining rooms closed and hotels out of operation, Florida’s premiere industry has been infected by the virus, too.

Numbers released Wednesday by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity show just how much.

Across the state, nearly 25% of all unemployment applications filed between March 15 and April 21 were done by workers who said they were employed in the hotel and restaurant industry. Add to that workers in the retail and recreation fields, and tourism-related jobs account for about 38% of job losses so far.

Tyson Foods closes key Iowa pork plant after coronavirus outbreak

Tyson Foods suspended operations Wednesday at an Iowa plant that is critical to the nation’s pork supply but was blamed for fueling a coronavirus outbreak in the community.

The Arkansas-based company said the closure of the plant in Waterloo would deny a vital market to hog farmers and further disrupt the U.S. meat supply. Tyson had kept the facility, its largest pork plant, open in recent days over the objections of alarmed local officials.

Furloughed Disney employees hope and hold out for relief

Furloughed Disney World workers are skipping the first step in the system that has frustrated and angered hundreds of thousands of suddenly jobless people in Florida.

Disney and the state have successfully worked together to enroll the entire furloughed Disney workforce into the state’s unemployment system, which has drawn intense scrutiny for its backlog and system crashes as a record number of Floridians apply. The automatic enrollment process is complete, Disney confirmed Wednesday.

But there is a huge caveat. DeSantis has said the automatic enrollment doesn’t mean Disney employees will jump ahead in line and get paid unemployment benefits in front of those who already applied weeks earlier and still haven’t been processed.

Restaurant’s air conditioner may have spread virus, researchers say

A restaurant’s air-conditioning system may have spread coronavirus-laden droplets from an infected person at one table to previously healthy people sitting elsewhere early this year in Guangzhou, China, researchers say.

The team of scientists summarized their findings for the Emerging Infectious Diseases journal, according to a report in Business Insider.

“Three seemingly healthy families were struck by COVID-19 in January after dining at neighboring tables in a windowless restaurant,” according to the article.

Southern states largely go it alone in reopening decisions

Governors in 17 states have committed to regional coordination to reopen their economies during the coronavirus outbreak — but none are in the South, where leaders are going it alone, just as they did in imposing restrictions.

As questions about when and how to ease virus-control measures becomes increasingly politically charged, governors in the Deep South have resisted any appearance of synchronization, instead driving home their message that each state must make its own decision.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp plans to have many of his state’s businesses up and running again as soon as Friday. Fellow Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee announced that most businesses will begin resuming operations as soon as next week.

AdventHealth has treated more than 600 COVID-19 patients in Central Florida, officials say

AdventHealth facilities across Central Florida have treated more than 600 COVID-19 patients, about half of whom have been hospitalized, the health system physicians said.

“I’m thrilled to announced that on convalescent plasma therapy, we’ve now treated over 20 patients, which actually places us in the top five by volume in the country,” said Dr. Neil Finkler, Chief Medical Officer of Acute Care Services.

He said the first two patients who received the therapy have left the hospital and there have been no deaths among others who received the therapy.


In a pandemic, a new appreciation for people who haul away our garbage

The coronavirus outbreak has triggered shortages of toilet paper, hand wipes, bottled water, meat, masks and money.

But if you haven’t noticed, there’s no shortage of one thing: Garbage.

Statistics say there's more of it than ever in Orlando’s homes. The bins lined along Oak Bluff Drive Tuesday morning were more proof.

They were designed to hold 96 gallons of trash, but many were jammed so high it would take a jackhammer to close the lids.

Who you gonna call?

Still waiting for federal stimulus check? Here are possible reasons

If you’re still holding out on your stimulus check arriving, you are not the only one.

Newsweek estimates that an estimated 60 million to 70 million Americans still haven’t received theirs, even though some reported seeing the money as early as April 10.

For those who are counting on the $1,200 (or more) economic impact payment from the IRS, here are some possible reasons for the delay.

Testing sites in Seminole County

No-cost tests are available in some Seminole County locations. Patients must bring identification. They do not have to exhibit symptoms. Although tests are free, patients with insurance should bring their cards. Appointments are not necessary. Sites will be open from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on the following dates, with the capacity to test up to 250 individuals:

Thursday, April 23: Goldsboro, Westside Community Center, 919 South Persimmon Avenue, Sanford

Friday, April 24: Lincoln Heights, Journeys Academy, 1722 West Airport Boulevard, Sanford

Monday, April 27: Bookertown Community Center, 4631 Gilbert Street, Sanford

Tuesday, April 28: Georgetown, Historic Sanford Stadium, 1201 Mellonville Avenue, Sanford

Wednesday, April 29: Jamestown, Rockhill Missionary Baptist Church 3036 Weston St, Oviedo

Florida county to offer drive-thru weddings

A county clerk’s office in north Florida is giving a second chance to couples whose wedding plans were canceled or postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Alachua County Clerk of Court office will host drive-thru wedding ceremonies outside the courthouse on the evening of April 30.

Domestic-violence victims are ignored voices of pandemic | Commentary

In a controversial comment during one of the press conferences of the Coronavirus Task Force, President Donald Trump said “the cure is worse than the problem” and suggested there are consequences for shutting down the economy in the pandemic, such as a rise in suicides.

Critics argued President Trump cared more about the economy than saving American lives in this pandemic. In trying to prevent both economic recession and massive deaths, the focus of the conversation has been on how to help people financially while we stay at home and practice social distancing. In doing so, we have ignored one of the most important consequences of stay-at-home orders — the fact that not everyone is safe in their own home.

DeSantis open to lifting restrictions for hospitals

DeSantis signaled on Tuesday that he might be ready to follow federal guidelines that call for letting doctors and hospitals again provide procedures that have been halted during the coronavirus crisis.

He told reporters in Tallahassee that he wanted to move quickly to help bolster hospitals, which have been losing money during a clampdown on optional surgeries.

“We need to do it pretty quickly, because if we keep it up the way we are going, I think more people are going to get laid off,” DeSantis said, noting that some hospitals have been forced to shed jobs due to the loss of revenue. “I think there is going to be less financial viability for some of these health-care outfits, which is very important.”

Florida lab hones in on coronavirus vaccine: report

The battle to find a coronavirus vaccine is global, but one Florida lab has found promising results. Researchers at the Scripps Research Institute in Jupiter have preliminary findings that show a safe and effective vaccine, according to a report in the Palm Beach Post.

The paper reported that the lab worked with other scientists in the U.S. and China to simulate amino acids found in the deadly virus in lab rats in the hopes it would create the antibodies necessary to neutralize the virus.

An update on the findings, which have yet to be peer-reviewed or published, are expected Wednesday during a Scripps-hosted webinar at 4 p.m. People interested in watching can register at scripps.edu.

Senate approves $500B aid bill for businesses, hospitals, testing

A $483 billion coronavirus aid package flew through the Senate on Tuesday after Congress and the White House reached a deal to replenish a small-business payroll fund and provided new money for hospitals and testing.

Passage was swift and unanimous, despite opposition from conservative Republicans. Trump tweeted his support, pledging to sign it into law. It now goes to the House, with votes set for Thursday.

“I urge the House to pass the bill,” Trump said at the White House.

After nearly two weeks of negotiations and deadlock, Congress and the White House reached agreement Tuesday on the nearly $500 billion package — the fourth as Washington strains to respond to the health and economic crisis.

Conservative groups quietly nurture anti-lockdown protests

An informal coalition of influential conservative leaders and groups, some with close connections to the White House, has been quietly working to nurture protests and apply political and legal pressure to overturn state and local orders intended to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

The groups have tapped their networks to drive up turnout at recent rallies in state capitals, dispatched their lawyers to file lawsuits, and paid for polling and research to undercut the arguments behind restrictions that have closed businesses and limited the movement of most Americans.

Among those fighting the orders are FreedomWorks and Tea Party Patriots, which played pivotal roles in the beginning of Tea Party protests starting more than a decade ago. Also involved are a law firm led partly by former Trump White House officials, a network of state-based conservative policy groups, and an ad hoc coalition of conservative leaders known as Save Our Country that has advised the White House on strategies for a tiered reopening of the economy.


Recovering Altamonte Springs pleads ‘stay home’

When Cindy Nieves spent a weekend in downtown Orlando in early March, the new coronavirus was far from her mind.

Then Nieves, 45, came down with a headache, weakness and other symptoms she attributed to allergies. Within a few days, the Seminole County resident went from feeling mildly ill to being hospitalized with COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.

Nieves said she was scared she was never going to see her husband or son again.

“I did ask the doctor that was about to intubate me, ‘Am I going to die?,'" she said. “He looked at me, with his hand on my shoulder, and said, ‘I am not God. I cannot determine that. But I have the talents that God has given me, and I’m going to use them, so I’m going to do my best to help you.’"

Judge denies release of sick Florida inmate

A 21-year-old man sickened with coronavirus will have to endure the disease in jail, his attorney Jim Lewis said. A Broward County judge on Tuesday denied Raul Ponce Jr.'s request to be released to his mother, citing his criminal record and a previous escape attempt from a juvenile lockup, Lewis said.

“A jail is not a very good place to try to ride out those kind of symptoms,” he said after the ruling. “I think it’s inhumane.”

Ponce has been in the Broward County jail for about three years awaiting trial on burglary, drug trafficking and racketeering charges. He is accused of working in a ring that burglarized and stole prescription drugs from pharmacies.

No benefits, more deaths in COVID-19 patients treated with malaria drug hydroxychloroquine: study

A malaria drug widely touted by Trump for treating coronavirus showed no benefit in a large analysis of its use in U.S. veterans hospitals. There were more deaths among those given hydroxychloroquine versus standard care, researchers reported.

The nationwide study was not a rigorous experiment. But with 368 patients, it’s the largest look so far of hydroxychloroquine with or without the antibiotic azithromycin for COVID-19, which has killed more than 171,000 people as of Tuesday.

The study was posted on an online site for researchers and has not been reviewed by other scientists. Grants from the National Institutes of Health and the University of Virginia paid for the work.

A Florida city is giving residents thermometers that relay temperature data to local officials

Just like phones and TVs, thermometers are also smart these days, and one Florida city is distributing 900 devices to residents free of charge.

The hope from St. Augustine officials is that the thermometers, which connect to the internet and share temperature data without sharing any other personal information, will be able to inform public health decisions, according to WJCT.org.

Local coronavirus victims: Their lives remembered

Folks who want just a tiny taste of what it meant to know Barbara Chubbuck will have to take a trip to the small town of Nobleboro, Maine. There at Spears Farm Stand where she worked in the summers, one can pick up some of Barb’s Peanut Butter Fudge. “She left us the spoon she used and the recipe,” said friend and owner of the stand Janet Spear. But the sweetest confection, her loved ones say, was the woman herself. “She was a fantastic lady,” said her husband Jesse “Tiger” Chubbuck. Barbara, who lived with her husband in Kissimmee, died of complications due to COVID-19 on April 17, less than a month shy of her 73 birthday. Tiger, 77, also tested positive but has been able to remain quarantined at home.

Robert Matusevich, 68, made and remade recipes with tomatoes and herbs from his garden. He took his granddaughter on golf cart safaris in his retirement community. He was a tinkerer. His fever persisted and the doctor put him on antibiotics, worried about a flu causing pneumonia and not knowing he had been infected by the coronavirus. From the time his temperature first spiked, the disease would take 18 days to kill him.

Rodrick “Rod” Samuels never let anyone mess with his younger brother while growing up in Mount Vernon, N.Y., just outside of the Bronx. The former high school quarterback often served as his family’s protector and sometimes provider, even as a teen. “I was a church boy,” said his brother Bishop Shawn Smith of Orlando, with whom Samuels lived. “He would fight for me, would defend me if people bothered me because I didn’t like to fight.” Samuels, 49, died Wednesday of coronavirus after being hospitalized last week at AdventHealth in Orlando.

Tip of the day

Travelers entering Florida from Connecticut, Louisiana, New Jersey, or New York must self-isolate for a period of 14 days from their entry into Florida or the duration of their stay here, whichever is shorter.

Symptoms? Do this

Call your health-care provider if you have cough, fever and shortness of breath — and you’ve been in close contact with someone how has COVID-19 or has recently traveled to one of the following countries, where the virus transmission is widespread: China, Iran, Italy, Japan and South Korea.

How to protect yourself

Avoid close contact with people who are sick.

Stay home when you are sick and avoid contact with persons in poor health.

Don’t touch your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.

Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then dispose of the tissue.

Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom, before eating, after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing.

Clean and disinfect touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.

Follow these recommendations for using a face mask: The CDC now recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies), especially in areas of significant community-based transmission. Follow these guidelines for using a cloth mask.

Questions? Here are numbers to call

The Florida Department of Health has set up a call center to answer questions about coronavirus. There’s a number for Orange County, too.

The Health Report: Florida Coronavirus Newsletter Daily A daily update on the coronavirus crisis in Florida. You are now following this newsletter. See all newsletters.

The Florida Department of Health’s number is 1-866-779-6121 and is available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Residents can also email questions to COVID-19@flhealth.gov.

In Orange County, the number to call is 407-723-5004; it’s available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For mental-health help, here is a list of resources.

For accurate, up-to-date information, visit

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov

The Florida Department of Health: floridahealth.gov/diseases-and-conditions/COVID-19. For questions, call the COVID-19 call center at 866-779-6121 or email COVID-19@flhealth.gov.

A live map of COVID-19 cases around the globe: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

You want to be extra-prepared? Here’s how to stock up before a pandemic: ready.gov/pandemic

For the latest coronavirus updates, visit OrlandoSentinel.com/coronavirus and follow @orlandosentinel on Twitter.

See complete coverage at OrlandoSentinel.com/coronavirus.