Florida News that impacts you – March 5th, 2021
Bottom Line: Your daily recap of the some of the biggest news from around the state that impacts you in South Florida.
- With 6,014 new COVID-19 cases reported Thursday by the Florida Department of Health, Florida’s weekly trend has reached another multi-month low at about 5,400 cases daily. That’s the best since November 12th.
- Florida’s finally seeing follow-through on the promised increase in first-dose vaccines to our state. While current supplies still aren’t equitable to what we had the week of January 17th - this week’s vaccines have produced the most first-dose vaccinations since January 22nd.
- Publix, Wal-Mart and Walgreens pharmacies are all now offering vaccines to all teachers regardless of age. The decision was made a day after CVS broke with the state’s guidelines citing the Biden administration’s guidance instead.
- Florida’s Office of the Chief Inspector General has concluded the ten-month long investigation ordered by Governor DeSantis into Florida’s failed Connect unemployment system. The 95-page report details systemic failures with the system starting with the launch. According to the IG, the Connect System was never tested according to the standards mandated in the contract with Deloitte Consulting in 2013 prior to going live. Additionally, dozens of issues flagged by state auditors over the years weren’t acted on by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.
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