Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on October 20
We’re keeping track of the latest news regarding the coronavirus in South Florida and around the state. Check back for updates throughout the day.
Florida man wanted by the FBI. They say he stole identities and COVID-19 relief money
5:10 p.m.: A man whose last known residence is Lehigh Acres appears on an FBI Wanted poster released Tuesday morning after being charged with ripping off tax refunds and unemployment benefits, including COVID-19 relief funds.
Allen Bien-Aime is 29, five-foot-six and 150 pounds, and has chest tattoos, dreadlocks and, according to the FBI, the aliases: Allen Mike Aime; Allen Mike Aime-Bien; Allen Mike Bien; and Allen Mike Bien-Aime.
The list of charges facing Bien-Aime is even longer than his list of aliases.
Read the full story here.
Florida adds 84 resident deaths and 3,662 new COVID cases, pushing total past 760,000
4 p.m.: Florida’s Department of Health on Tuesday confirmed 3,662 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the state’s known total to 760,389. Also, 84 resident deaths were announced, bringing the resident death toll to 16,105.
Two new non-resident deaths were also announced, bringing the non-resident toll to 203.
October has seen an increase in newly confirmed cases, and Tuesday’s single-day case count is the second highest number reported this month if you exclude Oct. 11. That’s when the state added Saturday’s count to Sunday’s because duplicated test results clogged up its data reporting system for a day.
If Oct. 11 is excluded, the highest single-day case count this month was on Saturday with 4,044 cases.
Read the full story here.
Uniformed Miami cop spotted wearing pro-Trump mask near voting site will be disciplined
2 p.m.: A uniformed Miami police officer was photographed sporting a protective mask with a pro-Trump slogan at a voting site in Government Center Tuesday morning.
The backlash from his department was swift. Miami’s police chief, shown the photo posted on social media, said Officer Daniel Ubeda would be disciplined, though exactly how had not been determined.
Whether Ubeda was working or on his way to vote himself wasn’t immediately clear. But this was: His timing was particularly bad. The person who saw and photographed him was Steve Simeonidis, chairman of the Miami-Dade Democratic party.
Read the full story here.
PortMiami wants $285M in COVID rent breaks for cruise lines as debt pressures grow
1:46 p.m.: Faced with a crippled cruise industry as a one-time cash cow, PortMiami wants to slash required rent payments for ships and hope business picks up in time to cover debt payments for an ongoing expansion.
The proposal before Miami-Dade commissioners Tuesday would waive up to $285 million in fees Carnival, NCL, Royal Caribbean and other cruise companies would owe under minimum-rent deals they signed years ago to use the county-owned docks, terminals and garages off downtown Miami. The revenue is crucial to the port’s long-time financial viability, and its ability to make debt payments that otherwise must be covered by county tax dollars.
While the agreements require companies in the $35 billion cruise industry to pay the port millions of dollars in rent each year no matter how many passengers book cabins, the administration of Mayor Carlos Gimenez wants to forgive those payments as a way to keep Miami a cruising hub during the COVID recovery.
Read the full story here.
4 people showed up to vote in Fort Lauderdale without masks. Here’s what happened next
11:12 a.m.: Police responded to an early voting site in Fort Lauderdale on Monday after a poll worker told four voters they couldn’t vote without masks. But after police consulted with Broward County Elections Supervisor Peter Antonacci, the voters were allowed back into the polling place to cast their ballots, still without masks on.
At around 12:45 p.m. at Coral Ridge Mall, police were called after a dispute between a poll worker and the group of maskless voters — one man and three women — according to a police report. Initially, police escorted them outside, where the voters claimed they had medical conditions that prevented them from wearing masks and “insisted they were allowed to vote.”
Read the full story here.
Miami-Dade’s COVID-19 curfew returns, pending court hearing
10:15 a.m.: The ongoing fight between Miami-Dade nightlife, especially strip-bar nightlife, and the county government over its COVID-19 curfew took a small swing to the county Monday. An appeals court ruling dropped the curfew curtain again.
Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez said the decision came down too late Monday for enforcement so the midnight to 6 a.m. curfew starts again Tuesday night.
Read the full story here.
CATCH UP TO START THE DAY
10 a.m.: Here are the coronavirus headlines to catch you up on what’s happening around South Florida and the state as Tuesday begins.
▪ COVID-19 death toll hits 16,000 for Florida residents as state reports 1,707 new cases
▪ Do I need to wear a mask to vote? Here are early voting safety rules in South Florida
▪ How safe is it to vote in person during the pandemic in South Florida? Here’s what experts say
