FL Governor Waives Unemployment Requirement Amid Coronavirus

TALLAHASSEE, FL — The number of coronavirus cases in Florida climbed to 23,340 Thursday night as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis temporarily lifted the requirement for unprecedented numbers of unemployed Floridians to look for a job while they collect benefits.

"While we made some progress in the recent days it's not nearly enough," DeSantis said. "We have an unprecedented amount of claims and we've got to work through them."

The governor's executive order on Thursday temporarily removes the requirement for unemployed Floridians to re-certify their claims every two weeks by attesting to the fact that they are "actively seeking work" through an electronic form.

"If the system is suffering under too much stress, why would we want people to have to go on and re-certify that," DeSantis said. "We understand what's going on with the economy now. We hope it's short term, but clearly this is not something that if you just look hard enough, you're all of the sudden going to find a new job."

The governor said nearly $50 million in unemployment benefits has already been paid out, including payments to 33,623 people who applied after the crisis began in mid March. He said the state is also sending out $600 paper checks this week under the federal CARES Act.

"Floridians who receive their $600 check, will receive their state benefits for reemployment assistance via either direct deposit, or prepaid debit card based on the individual applicant's preferences," the governor said.

The rise in coronavirus cases represents an additional 816 additional cases over the previous 24-hour period throughout the state.

State health officials reported 668 deaths in Florida as of Thursday night up from 591 deaths in the previous 24-hour period.

Broward County reported seven new deaths Thursday. Miami-Dade reported 28 new deaths. Palm Beach County reported five more deaths.

Lee County reported one new death as did Charlotte County, Indian River County, Manatee County, Polk County, Santa Rosa County, Seminole County, St. Lucie County, Volusia County and Collier County. Orange County and Suwannee County each reported two new deaths.

There were a total of 3,458 hospitalizations from the virus reported in Florida as of Thursday night. The state had a 10.4 percent positive test rate out of 225,736 total tests. This amounts to more than one test per every 99 people in Florida.

"A lot of these tests come from our drive-thru testing sites which have been very successful," the governor said Thursday. "But those sites can't necessarily serve everybody. Not everyone has access to a car and may not have the ability to travel all the way to one of those drive-thru sites. So, we need to be able to reach into communities, particularly under-served communities to provide access to testing."

He said two walk-up testing sites in Broward County will open Saturday at Mitchell Moore Park in Pompano Beach and the Urban League of Broward County in Fort Lauderdale. The new test sites will be operated by 60 Florida National Guard representatives, the Broward Sheriff's Office and the Florida Department of Health.

"Anybody that is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms can walk up to the site to receive a test or call to set up an appointment to be tested," he said. Each site can process 200 people per day. Call 954-412-7300 to make an appointment.

Some 60 percent of Florida's cases are concentrated in three South Florida counties, including Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach.

Miami-Dade reported 8,326 cases as of Thursday night, more than any Florida County. Broward County, which includes Fort Lauderdale, had 3,466 cases. Palm Beach County, which includes West Palm Beach, reported 1,867 cases.

Don’t miss updates about precautions in Florida as they are announced. Sign up for Patch news alerts and newsletters.

Hillsborough County, which includes Tampa, reported 878 cases as of Thursday night. Orange County, which includes Orlando, reported 1,114 cases.

Related:

• FL Judge Urges Lawyers To Get Out Of Bed For Zoom Hearings
• Miami ER Doctor Fights Custody Battle Over Coronavirus Fears
• Pinellas Shelter Adopts Out All Dogs During Coronavirus Pandemic
• FL Police Chief Blamed Deputy's Coronavirus On Gay Lifestyle: FOP
• FL Governor Says WWE Essential Service During Coronavirus Crisis
• Embattled Tampa Pastor Says Church Received Bomb Threat
• FL Governor Suspends Foreclosures, Evictions Over Coronavirus
• Florida Coronavirus: Stay-At-Home Order By Governor
• Florida Coronavirus: Special Grocery Shopping Hours For Seniors

In an attempt to provide as much information to our readers as possible, Patch is publishing a county-by-county breakdown of the coronavirus cases in Florida's 67 counties, along with the median age of patients, the number of hospital cases by county and the number of deaths.

Patch is updating this data twice each day as available from the Florida Department of Health. Here is the most recent data: