Almost 19,000 cases in Florida

State officials report more than 450 deaths

State health officials reported Saturday evening that they had documented almost 19,000 cases of the new coronavirus and more than 450 deaths.

The bulk of infections and deaths occurred in South Florida. The state reports 10,734 infected individuals between Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties and 247 coronavirus-related deaths in the region.

Miami-Dade has the most COVID-19 deaths and infections in Florida: 6,487 infections and 91 deaths. A total of 2,806 people have been infected and 76 have died in Broward County. Palm Beach has 1,441 infections and 80 deaths.

According to data from the State’s Department of Health, the youngest individual to succumb to the disease in the region is a 31-year-old man from MiamiDade County who died April 4.

But data from the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner’s Office appears to show an even younger person: a 29-year-old man who died on March 31. That case is not considered official because it is “pending further stud-ies.”

Across the region, the center of the state’s coronavirus outbreak, the vast majority of people killed by the virus so far have had a preexisting condition such as heart disease and diabetes, according to a new South Florida Sun Sentinel analysis of data from county medical examiners.

The United States has recorded more than 522,280 cases, with a death toll of 20,283 by late Saturday afternoon. The nation now has more deaths than any other country in the world. Italy is second with 19,468 deaths.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Saturday announced that the state has ordered so-called antibody tests that have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to

detect whether a person has ever had COVID-19.

“It is manufactured in China,” he said at a Tallahassee news conference. “What else is new? Hopefully we will be changing that as a country very soon. We’re trying to get that to be delivered here as soon as possible.”

The tests detect proteins called antibodies that the immune system produces to fight the disease. These antibodies can be detected in a person’s blood.

DeSantis said the antibody tests could provide a clearer indication about how wide the new coronavirus has spread in the state.

“There may be people who had an illness in February and March, didn’t go to the doctor for it and maybe they had it,” he said.

Floridians on SNAP can now order groceries onlineThe Food and Drug Administration has approved a request from Florida to allow recipients of the supplemental nutrition assistance program to order their groceries online. The move is expected to allow the nearly 3 million Floridians who receive nutritional assistance to more effectively social distance by avoiding trips to the grocery store.

Looking ahead to post-pandemic life in South Florida. Whenever coronavirus restrictions are eased, we can expect only a gradual return to the life we left behind.

Thousands line up for miles to get free food during coronavirus crisis. Thousands of people were willing to sit in their idling vehicles for over three hours in a line that stretched more than five miles just to get one bag of free groceries at a coronavirus food distribution in Miramar on Saturday.

Counties require masks for people out in public. Palm Beach County issued an order Saturday requiring people to cover their faces in public places beginning at 12:01 a.m. Monday. Most South Florida residents are now required to wear a mask in public.

Coronavirus killing blacks in Florida’s larger cities disproportionately. As state health officials began to release racial data on COVID-19 victims this week, a new and sobering picture of the crisis has emerged showing that

“It is manufactured in China. What else is new? Hopefully we will be changing that as a country very soon. We’re trying to get that to be delivered here as soon as possible.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis, on so-called antibody tests

African Americans make up nearly one-fourth to one-half of Floridians dying in many major metropolitan areas — including Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Miami.

Out-of-work renters facing financial ruin without help. Thousands of renters who lost jobs at restaurants, stores, salons, bars and other businesses won’t be able to afford to pay their April and May rents. If financial help doesn’t arrive, they’ll face limited choices

State orders 1- to 2-month speedup of I-4 project in Orlando. The governor ordered an acceleration of the $2.3 billion Int e r st a t e 4 Ul t i ma t e p ro j e c t through Central Florida — a move possible, he said, because the coronavirus lockdown has dramatically reduced traffic on the troubled highway.

Coronavirus postpones or alters largest spring participatory sports events. The coronavirus crisis has postponed or altered many of the largest annual mass sporting events this spring in South Florida, affecting tens of thousands of participants and the causes they often support.

Why is construction continuing despite coronavirus threat? Construction jobs go on across South Florida because it’s classified as an essential business. Is that right?

South Florida churches get creative for Easter worship. Many families have been working to create a semblance of normalcy during the coronavirus crisis, but Easter has posed a new challenge for the Christian faithful: On the biggest attendance day of the year, churches are closed, forcing new approaches to worship and fellowship.