A surging number of patients requiring treatment for coronavirus is threatening to push . With a limited number of beds — especially intensive-care beds — the state’s hospital system is after years of cost cutting, under staffing and an emphasis on high-profit procedures. The state began tracking available beds with data self-reported by hospitals. Check the map below to see how each county is handling the growing demand. The data updates every hour. Last updated Hover or tap on a county for more info. Advertisement Advertisement…A surging number of patients requiring treatment for coronavirus is threatening to push . With a limited number of beds — especially intensive-care beds — the state’s hospital system is after years of cost cutting, under staffing and an emphasis on high-profit procedures. The state began tracking available beds with data self-reported by hospitals. Check the map below to see how each county is handling the growing demand. The data updates every hour. Last updated Hover or tap on a county for more info. Advertisement AdvertisementWW…

Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony’s general counsel is emphatically denying allegations from the county public defender that jail inmates are being mistreated and concerns about the coronavirus are being ignored. In a blistering letter, Broward Sheriff’s Office general counsel Terrence Lynch told Public Defender Howard Finkelstein and his chief assistant, Gordon Weekes, that their claims amounted to no more than “unsubstantiated, misleading, or outright false allegations which you apparently made no effort to investigate.” Advertisement Lynch’s response, dated Wednesday and released by the...…Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony’s general counsel is emphatically denying allegations from the county public defender that jail inmates are being mistreated and concerns about the coronavirus are being ignored. In a blistering letter, Broward Sheriff’s Office general counsel Terrence Lynch told Public Defender Howard Finkelstein and his chief assistant, Gordon Weekes, that their claims amounted to no more than “unsubstantiated, misleading, or outright false allegations which you apparently made no effort to investigate.” Advertisement Lynch’s response, dated Wednesday and released by the...WW…

Many people have started demanding refunds on everything from their college tuition to theme park passes to theater and sports tickets. Now, as the coronavirus quarantine drags on, many of these complaints are bound to end up in court, some attorneys say. Advertisement Universities appear to be among the first in line. Students from at least a half-dozen U.S. colleges, including one at the University of Miami, want their money back for tuition and service fees they paid for a semester derailed by the coronavirus crisis. At least six federal lawsuits have been filed — three in New York and...…Many people have started demanding refunds on everything from their college tuition to theme park passes to theater and sports tickets. Now, as the coronavirus quarantine drags on, many of these complaints are bound to end up in court, some attorneys say. Advertisement Universities appear to be among the first in line. Students from at least a half-dozen U.S. colleges, including one at the University of Miami, want their money back for tuition and service fees they paid for a semester derailed by the coronavirus crisis. At least six federal lawsuits have been filed — three in New York and...WW…

Most out-of-work homeowners frightened by the thought of suspending their mortgage payments can rest easy. Regardless of what their mortgage servicer tells them, the 70% of borrowers with federally backed loans won’t be on the hook to repay those missed payments all at once at the end. Advertisement But that's not what many are being told when they reach out to hit the pause button on their monthly payments. Many, if not most, loan service companies are telling borrowers they can stop making payments for only up to three months and will have to repay it in a lump sum on the fourth month....…Most out-of-work homeowners frightened by the thought of suspending their mortgage payments can rest easy. Regardless of what their mortgage servicer tells them, the 70% of borrowers with federally backed loans won’t be on the hook to repay those missed payments all at once at the end. Advertisement But that's not what many are being told when they reach out to hit the pause button on their monthly payments. Many, if not most, loan service companies are telling borrowers they can stop making payments for only up to three months and will have to repay it in a lump sum on the fourth month....WW…

Governor Ron DeSantis says South Florida's next phase of the coronavirus pandemic may look different than rest of state. Getting back to some semblance of normalcy might take longer in South Florida than in other parts of the state, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday. Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties have of coronavirus cases — more than 14,000 of Florida’s 24,753 cases as of Friday evening. Advertisement In some less populated areas, the disease spread has been tiny. Just west of Palm Beach in Hendry County, with its population of just over 42,000, there have been only 28 cases. In...…Governor Ron DeSantis says South Florida's next phase of the coronavirus pandemic may look different than rest of state. Getting back to some semblance of normalcy might take longer in South Florida than in other parts of the state, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday. Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties have of coronavirus cases — more than 14,000 of Florida’s 24,753 cases as of Friday evening. Advertisement In some less populated areas, the disease spread has been tiny. Just west of Palm Beach in Hendry County, with its population of just over 42,000, there have been only 28 cases. In...WW…

The owner of Hott Leggz in Fort Lauderdale has removed thousands of dollar bills from the walls and plans to donate the money to unemployed staff. The history of Fort Lauderdale restaurant Hott Leggz is written with magic marker on thousands of dollar bills stapled to the walls and ceiling. On one bill, “Da Bears” is scrawled in Navy blue above George Washington’s mug, reflecting the pub’s Windy City roots. Another single, from a Jackson, Va., visitor, exclaims “I ate gator tail!” as a nod to the alligator-inspired menu. Because this is also a sports bar, most scrawled messages range from...…The owner of Hott Leggz in Fort Lauderdale has removed thousands of dollar bills from the walls and plans to donate the money to unemployed staff. The history of Fort Lauderdale restaurant Hott Leggz is written with magic marker on thousands of dollar bills stapled to the walls and ceiling. On one bill, “Da Bears” is scrawled in Navy blue above George Washington’s mug, reflecting the pub’s Windy City roots. Another single, from a Jackson, Va., visitor, exclaims “I ate gator tail!” as a nod to the alligator-inspired menu. Because this is also a sports bar, most scrawled messages range from...WW…

It was midway through March and Florida’s peak flu season was winding down. Then a steep, sudden and alarming spike in pneumonia-related deaths appeared — signaling the arrival of a killer: the new coronavirus. Experts say the grim spike likely included coronavirus deaths recorded, instead, as pneumonia. And the timing could mean the virus was already spreading unchecked through Florida communities as early as late February, weeks before the state began taking social-distancing measures. Advertisement The state Department of Health would not comment on whether its official includes the flu...…It was midway through March and Florida’s peak flu season was winding down. Then a steep, sudden and alarming spike in pneumonia-related deaths appeared — signaling the arrival of a killer: the new coronavirus. Experts say the grim spike likely included coronavirus deaths recorded, instead, as pneumonia. And the timing could mean the virus was already spreading unchecked through Florida communities as early as late February, weeks before the state began taking social-distancing measures. Advertisement The state Department of Health would not comment on whether its official includes the flu...WW…

After refusing for weeks, the state of Florida reversed course Saturday and released the names of 303 nursing homes and assisted-living facilities with cases of the coronavirus. The list, from the news media, included only the facilities’ names. It did not show the number of cases at each facility or whether they involved residents, staff or both. Advertisement Included on the list were 39 facilities in Broward County, 54 in Miami-Dade County and 36 in Palm Beach County. Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the decision to release the names in Tallahassee, after pressure from advocates for the...…After refusing for weeks, the state of Florida reversed course Saturday and released the names of 303 nursing homes and assisted-living facilities with cases of the coronavirus. The list, from the news media, included only the facilities’ names. It did not show the number of cases at each facility or whether they involved residents, staff or both. Advertisement Included on the list were 39 facilities in Broward County, 54 in Miami-Dade County and 36 in Palm Beach County. Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the decision to release the names in Tallahassee, after pressure from advocates for the...WW…

Broward County is preparing for a dramatic increase in the number of people choosing to vote by mail in Florida’s August primary and in the November presidential election, as continued coronavirus concerns discourage in-person voting. Among the plans: running double shifts of employees for days on end to tabulate mail ballots, an effort to educate voters on how to make sure their ballots get counted, and stationing Elections Office staff at the Postal Service center in Opa-Locka to scoop up ballots that arrive right before the deadline. Advertisement “Clearly from the public’s point of...…Broward County is preparing for a dramatic increase in the number of people choosing to vote by mail in Florida’s August primary and in the November presidential election, as continued coronavirus concerns discourage in-person voting. Among the plans: running double shifts of employees for days on end to tabulate mail ballots, an effort to educate voters on how to make sure their ballots get counted, and stationing Elections Office staff at the Postal Service center in Opa-Locka to scoop up ballots that arrive right before the deadline. Advertisement “Clearly from the public’s point of...WW…

Broward County Jail inmates diagnosed with COVID-19 are reporting alarming conditions, according to the county Public Defender’s Office. Among the allegations: Advertisement The issues were raised in a letter dated Friday night to Sheriff Greg Tony from Public Defender Howard Finkelstein and his chief assistant, Gordon Weekes. “We are in receipt of very disturbing information regarding the treatment of persons in the Broward County Jail who have been diagnosed with COVID-19,” Finkelstein and Weekes said in the letter to Tony in which they listed the series of issues. Given that there is...…Broward County Jail inmates diagnosed with COVID-19 are reporting alarming conditions, according to the county Public Defender’s Office. Among the allegations: Advertisement The issues were raised in a letter dated Friday night to Sheriff Greg Tony from Public Defender Howard Finkelstein and his chief assistant, Gordon Weekes. “We are in receipt of very disturbing information regarding the treatment of persons in the Broward County Jail who have been diagnosed with COVID-19,” Finkelstein and Weekes said in the letter to Tony in which they listed the series of issues. Given that there is...WW…