Dan DeLuca

The News-Press

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We'll update this story throughout the day with the latest news about coronavirus and its effects in Florida.

The Florida Department of Health announced the state's seventh reported death linked to COVID-19 in an evening release Tuesday as the state's total number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus jumped to 216.

The state's seventh death linked to COVID-19 is reported out of Manatee County, where there are seven reported cases.

Earlier Tuesday, a man at an assisted-living facility in Broward died of COVID-19, the sixth death reported in Florida. Gov. Ron DeSantis made the announcement during a news conference at the Capitol Tuesday morning.

Broward and Miami-Dade counties have the most confirmed cases in the state at 55 and 43, respectively, according to the state Department of He

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 jumped by 21 to 216 in Tuesday's evening report. Under direction from Gov. DeSantis, the Florida Department of Health moved to twice-daily reporting on Monday.

Of the 216 confirmed cases, 195 involved Florida residents, according to the state Department of Health.

DeSantis also said that four students at the University of Florida were diagnosed with the virus.

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Here are the latest numbers available from the Florida Department of Health:

DeSantis says K-12 must remain closed through April 15

6:41 p.m.

Gov. Ron DeSantis says students must remain off school campuses until at least April 15.

DeSantis made the announcement at a press conference Tuesday afternoon. He added that he and Florida Department of Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran were waiving state testing requirements for the school year and the requirements that students must take the test to graduate or advance to the next grade.

"Parents may at their discretion choose to keep their child in the same grade for the 2021 school year," DeSantis said.

Orlando to ban alcohol sales effective immediately

12:45 p.m.

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer announced the ban of alcohol sales at all bars and restaurants in the city in an effort to limit social gatherings amid the growing COVID-19 outbreak.

The ban does not apply to grocery stores and liquor stores that sell alcohol to take home.

AMC, Regal close all movie theaters

12:24 p.m.

Two of the country's largest theater chains, AMC Theatres and Regal Cinemas, have shut down nationwide amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Hollywood has postponed most of its upcoming releases.That means that even if movie theaters remain open in the coming weeks, they will have little to play.

Get the full story here.

DeSantis orders bars, nightclubs to close at 5 p.m. today

11:20 a.m.

Gov. Ron DeSantis today ordered all bars and nightclubs to close effective 5 p.m. today.

He also announced that four University of Florida students have tested positive for the coronavirus, including at least one who had traveled internationally.

The governor is also recommending that all restaurants follow California in reducing capacity by 50 percent and distancing tables to make sure there is six feet of separation between groups of diners.

"This is the floor for the foreseeable future," DeSantis said.

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Lifeguards union wants Volusia County to close beaches

8:54 a.m.

On Monday, the lifeguard union begged officials to shutter beach access during the state of emergency as county officials weighed their options in preparation for Tuesday’s 10 a.m. Volusia County Council meeting.

“The Volusia Watermen’s Association has been tirelessly and privately pressuring the County to do the right thing,” stated the Teamsters union in a press release. “...Volusia County, the time is up. Every day you wait to act, the virus spreads.”

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Lawsuit argues Florida should extend election due to coronavirus

6:30 a.m.

A Bethune-Cookman University student is among the plaintiffs suing the state government in an attempt to extend the period for returning vote-by-mail ballots to accommodate for the coronavirus disruption.

Primary elections were scheduled for Tuesday in four states -- Arizona, Florida, Illinois and Ohio -- but Ohio moved late Monday to delay its election, with Gov. Mike DeWine recommending it be held on June 2.

The suit — filed by a coalition of racial justice organizations and four other individual plaintiffs — requests Florida extend the deadline to request a vote-by-mail ballot until March 27. That deadline was Saturday, and elections offices must have those ballots by 7 p.m. Tuesday.

The suit also seeks to allow voters to request ballots by email or fax and return them by fax.

The Governor’s Office has not yet responded to a request for comment.

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DeSantis could issue 'guidance' on bars, restaurants Tuesday

8:30 p.m. Monday

Gov. Ron DeSantis, Surgeon General Scott Rivkees and other state officials continue to lead efforts to squash the spread of the deadly coronavirus in Florida by counseling the avoiding of crowds, practicing social distancing and protecting the elderly and infirm.

But DeSantis has so far been reluctant to follow the lead of other governors and order restaurants and bars to curtail the size of their crowds, cut hours or close altogether.

"We received new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and are in the process of internalizing it and see how it would affect policy in the state of Florida," he said.

Earlier Monday, he had conference calls with several restaurant leaders as well as the head of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association: "We are likely to issue guidance and allow locations to tailor to their own needs," DeSantis said.

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Coronavirus case count in Florida now will be updated twice daily

1:11 p.m. Monday

As more people are tested in South Florida and other hot spots of the coronavirus outbreak, the Florida Department of Health is moving to twice-daily updates about new cases starting Monday.

Updates will be posted midday and around 6 p.m., according to Helen Aguirre Ferré, spokeswoman for Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The department has also designed a new dashboard for tracking cases that allows viewers to dive deep by clicking on to each county for more detail on each case. For example, clicking on Broward County — which still has by far the largest number of cases — will expand a box that gives the number of cases (38), the number that are travel-related (15), the number of men (21) and women (17), and the age range (19-83).

Get the full story here.

Emergency order extends expiration date of driver licenses

9:40 a.m. Monday

At the direction of Governor Ron DeSantis, an emergency order was given that all Florida driver licenses, commercial driver license and ID cards expiring in the next 30 days will be extended an additional 30 days past the expiration date.

The order also waives the delinquent renewal fees during the extension period for the driver licenses and identification cards.

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