Health

A Leon County circuit judge Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit seeking to force the state to process and pay unemployment claims that have been delayed amid a crush of people losing jobs because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Governor Ron DeSantis announced designated lanes for serological antibody tests will be added to current drive-through testing sites in Miami, Orange County, and Jacksonville, before expanding it to other sites in the state.

A day after a group of people, unmasked and not practicing social distancing, gathered outside a Tampa restaurant, the mayor said she does not believe this is indicative of a growing trend.

For the first time in weeks, the International Plaza mall and the University Town Center mall in Sarasota were back open. 

Publix says their initiative to help support Florida farmers and families in need has reached a major milestone.

A mural thanking first responders for their dedication to keeping residents safe has been completed by a Tampa-based artist. 

Help is on the way for St. Pete restaurants. City leaders are finding creative ways to allow restaurateurs to expand their outdoor dining spaces. 

The University Town Center testing site is one of the five new sites DeSantis announced last week would be popping up to be run by the National Guard in counties where more testing needed to be done. During his visit Tuesday morning to the site, DeSantis said a mobile testing lab will be coming, saying it will also provide antibody testing.

The University of South Florida's spring graduating class will not have a traditional commencement ceremony because of the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, landmarks, like the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, across the Tampa Bay area will light up in green and gold to honor those graduates.

The biology department at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine is in mourning after the shooting death of a scientist who it says was studying the biological makeup of the coronavirus and was on the “verge of making very significant findings toward understanding” the disease.

The Florida Department of Health says the number of known cases of COVID-19 in the state rose by 563 since yesterday morning as the virus spreads and as more people are tested across the state. The total number of cases in Florida is now 38,002.

These last few months have brought different stresses for everyone. With museums, aquariums, and other attractions taking steps to reopen, they hope to give visitors a much-needed, but most importantly, safe mental break. 

COVID-19 antibody tests are coming to Florida’s drive-thru testing sites, Governor Ron DeSantis said Tuesday. Antibody testing data could help state officials see how the virus spread before widespread testing was available.

Nearly 60 percent of employees at the Tyson Fresh Meats pork plant in Perry, Iowa, have tested positive for coronavirus, making it one of the hardest-hit meat plants in the U.S.