It was a second straight day of good news for Florida on the COVID-19 front. The release of numbers Monday from the Florida Department of Health showed 4,752 new confirmed cases of the virus, the lowest the state has seen since June 22.
TALLAHASSEE — Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried launched a campaign Monday aimed at getting Floridians to follow coronavirus health and social-distancing recommendations.
Shannon Dunn has to report in person to her job this week as a cafeteria manager at at elementary school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, but she has no idea what she’ll do when her daughter starts kindergarten with online-only instruction.
NEW YORK (AP) — Lord & Taylor, America’s oldest retailer, is seeking bankruptcy protection, as is the owner of Men’s Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank, lengthening the list of major retail chains that have faltered in the pandemic.
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A Norwegian cruise ship line halted all trips and apologized Monday for procedural errors after an outbreak of coronavirus on one ship infected at least 5 passengers and 36 crew. Health authorities fear the ship could have infected dozens of towns and villages alon…
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida reported 73 new deaths from the new coronavirus on Monday as the number of new cases increased by almost 4,800 people, health officials reported.
SEBRING — If animals could give high-fives, several humans would be on the receiving end. Over the weekend, cats and dogs from the Humane Society of Highlands County and the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office Animals Services benefited from the generosity of others.
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers reported progress on a huge coronavirus relief bill Saturday, as political pressure mounts to restore an expired $600-per-week supplemental unemployment benefit and send funding to help schools reopen.
When Stephanie Melendez, her husband and two young daughters tested positive for the coronavirus, the person she most wanted to call was her father.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Sturgis is on. The message has been broadcast across social media as South Dakota, which has seen an uptick in coronavirus infections in recent weeks, braces to host hundreds of thousands of bikers for the 80th edition of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.
MANILA, Philippines — Coronavirus infections in the Philippines surged past 100,000 Sunday in a troubling milestone after medical groups declared that the country was waging “a losing battle” against the virus and asked the president to reimpose a lockdown in the capital.
KAMPALA, Uganda — After 23 days in quarantine in Uganda — far longer than required — Jimmy Spire Ssentongo walked free in part because of a cartoon he drew. It showed a bound prisoner begging for liberation after multiple negative tests, while a health minister demanded to know where he was …
BERLIN — Thousands protested Germany’s coronavirus restrictions Saturday in a Berlin demonstration marking what organizers called “the end of the pandemic” — a declaration that comes just as authorities are voicing increasing concerns about an uptick in new infections.
ST. PETERSBURG — Cameron Settles was swabbed for COVID-19 in mid-June at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando and it took him eight days to get the results.
Sunday’s COVID-19 numbers from the Florida Department of Health contained a bit of good news for Florida, as the number of new cases was 7,104 — the first time the state has seen fewer than 7,500 new cases since July 6.
TALLAHASSEE — As COVID-19 spreads throughout the state’s prison system, Florida Department of Corrections Secretary Mark Inch and one of his top lieutenants have tested positive for the virus, the state agency announced late Friday night.
PARIS — Mexico now has the third most COVID-19 deaths in the world, behind the United States and Brazil, while former success story Vietnam is struggling to control an outbreak spreading in its most famous beach resort.
SEBRING — When COVID-19 hit the scene several months ago, residents rallied around first responders and health care workers. Prayer vigils at health care facilities, lawn signs and other gestures were offered in thanks and support for the workers on the “front lines.” Since those originally …
The statewide death toll may have dropped, but it was a rough day for Highlands County, which saw an additional three COVID-19-related deaths with the release of Saturday’s numbers by the Florida Department of Health. That brings the death toll in the county to 29. The ages of the three new …
SEBRING — For the fourth day in a row a record number of coronavirus fatalities have been recorded in a single day in Florida with 257 in the Thursday count after 253 deaths on Wednesday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Once a coronavirus vaccine is approved as safe and effective, Americans should have widespread access within a reasonable time, Dr. Anthony Fauci assured lawmakers Friday.
SEBRING — Highlands County Board of County Commissioners will soon be taking applications for the Highlands CARES grant programs it has established. These grant programs will be using the funds Highlands County government has received as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Secu…
The powerhouse Southeastern Conference reconfigured its schedule Thursday to include only league games in 2020, a pandemic-forced decision that pushes major college football closer to a siloed regular season in which none of the power conferences cross paths.
Staff who work at long-term care facilities have lives outside of those facilities. They leave their place of work, doing their best to avoid the coronavirus and stay safe, until they return to work the following day. Meanwhile, personnel guard the facility’s entrance, screening staff and ta…
Tyson Foods says it plans to administer thousands of coronavirus tests per week at its U.S. facilities under an expanded effort to protect workers and keep plants running.
SEBRING — For the third day in a row there is a new record high in the number of deaths recorded in a single day from COVID-19.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — As the world races to find a vaccine and a treatment for COVID-19, there is seemingly no antidote in sight for the burgeoning outbreak of coronavirus conspiracy theories, hoaxes, anti-mask myths and sham cures.
NEW YORK (AP) — While deaths from the coronavirus in the U.S. are mounting rapidly, public health experts are seeing a flicker of good news: The second surge of confirmed cases appears to be leveling off.
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — For 99 days, Vietnam seemed to have defeated the coronavirus. There wasn’t a single reported case of community transmission. Not a single death. A handful of cases were caught and isolated at the border, but otherwise people were returning to their normal lives. The cou…
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Masked pilgrims arrived Thursday at Mount Arafat, a desert hill near Islam’s holiest site, to pray and repent on the most important day of the hajj, the annual pilgrimage in Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
PARIS (AP) — As the sun went down, their partying got into full flow, with an unwanted guest: the coronavirus.
MIAMI (AP) — Two residents of the Florida Keys have been jailed for failing to quarantine after testing positive for the new coronavirus.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — One hundred and 14 days. That’s how long Mary Daniel went without seeing her husband after the coronavirus banned visitors from his nursing home, separating the couple for the first time since he was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s seven years ago.
TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis is looking to “tweak” one of his coronavirus orders so restaurant wait staff and non-health care workers can get back on the job quicker after testing positive for COVID-19.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve officials are grappling this week with the timing and scope of their next policy moves at a time when the raging viral pandemic has weakened the U.S. economy.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday dismissed Democratic demands to include aid for cash-strapped cities in a new coronavirus relief package and lashed out at Republicans, saying they should “go back to school” if they reject money for a new FBI building in downtown Washing…
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Muslim pilgrims, donning face masks and moving in small groups after days in isolation, began arriving to Islam’s holiest site in Mecca on Wednesday for the start of a historically unique and scaled-down hajj experience reshaped by the coronavirus pandemic.
BEIJING (AP) — China reported more than 100 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday as the country continues to battle an outbreak in Xinjiang.
TALLAHASSEE — — Nearly 600,000 electric customers in Florida are behind in monthly payments since the coronavirus pandemic began hammering the economy and causing massive job losses, state utility regulators were told Wednesday.
SEBRING — 2020’s hurricane season started slowly, but that doesn’t mean the season isn’t here.
SEBRING — After a record 186 deaths on Monday, the Tuesday count of 216 for those who passed due to COVID-19 in Florida set another record.
TALLAHASSEE — Florida’s largest faculty union Monday called on Gov. Ron DeSantis and state education officials to order higher-education institutions to use remote learning through the fall.
WESLACO, Texas (AP) — As recovery and cleanup efforts got underway Monday in South Texas in the wake of a downgraded Hanna, worried residents confronted the prospect of undertaking the effort amid a surge in coronavirus cases that has left many fearful about their health.
SEBRING — A slightly smaller single-day increase in COVID-19 infections on Monday, just below 9,000, jumped up over 9,000 again on Tuesday.
WASHINGTON — Nearly 3,000 federal workers have filed compensation claims for having contracted COVID-19 on the job, a number that is expected to double by early next month, according to a Department of Labor review.
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas reported an increase of nearly 700 additional deaths from the COVID-19 virus due to a change in how the state collects fatality data, representing a grim surge in the state’s fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
The biggest test yet of an experimental COVID-19 vaccine got underway Monday with the first of some 30,000 Americans rolling up their sleeves to receive shots created by the U.S. government as part of the all-out global race to stop the pandemic.
STRAWBERRY, Ala. (AP) — More than 40 people were infected with the coronavirus after attending a multi-day revival event at a north Alabama Baptist church, according to the congregation’s pastor.
BERLIN (AP) — Europe’s tourism revival is running into turbulence only weeks after countries reopened their borders, with rising infections in Spain and other nations causing increasing concern among health authorities over people bringing the coronavirus home from their summer vacations.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Muslim pilgrims have started arriving in Mecca for a drastically scaled-down hajj as Saudi authorities balance the kingdom’s oversight of one of Islam’s key pillars and the safety of visitors in the face of a global pandemic.
Florida saw an increase of 8,892 COVID-19 cases with the release of Monday’s numbers by the Florida Department of Health. It was the smallest daily increase seen the past two weeks.
