It’s Thursday, April 16th - and NBC 6 has the top stories you need to know for the day.
No. 1 - Economists at the International Monetary Fund are calling the coronavirus pandemic the Great Lockdown. In South Florida, experts with FIU presented a bleak picture as well as the brunt of the hardships predicted for those who can least afford it.
The three main takeaways from the FIU webinar on what South Florida can expect include rapid employment loss in key industry centers, huge one-month earning losses in Miami's hotel and cruise lines industries and potentially devastating social impacts, particularly in communities of color, as Royal Caribbean announced it was laying off or furloughing a quarter of its workforce, and Trump National Doral revealed it has cut more than 500 jobs after it was forced to shut down.
No. 2 - The superintendent of Miami-Dade Public Schools said it would be "imprudent" to have students physically return to campuses by the end of the school year with the state still in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
Alberto Carvalho said the best option was for students to continue digital learning, which they've been doing for the past four weeks. Carvalho's comments came after Florida's teachers union called on Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday to keep campuses closed through the end of the school year, saying the coronavirus outbreak “presents a threat we cannot control.”
No. 3 - A man who attended Winter Party Festival has died of coronavirus after spending weeks in the ICU.
Thom Carr's husband, J. Heider, confirmed his death Wednesday in a Facebook post. Carr, 67, is the third man who attended the weeklong festival on Miami Beach who has died of COVID-19. Heider told NBC 6 back in March that Carr was in critical condition on a ventilator.
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No. 4 - While nearly all employees of a theme park company based out of Central Florida remain furloughed during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, a federal government filing shows executives have received promotions and nearly $7 million in stock options.
Filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission show that SeaWorld paid out the stock options - totaling $6.8 million - to “recognize contributions and long-term goals” during the crisis. Chief Financial Officer Marc Swanson, who was named interim CEO after former leader Serge Rivera resigned from the Orlando based company after just five months over decisions made by the company’s board, received nearly $1.5 million in stock according to filings.
No. 5 - When Pamela Rosero was admitted to Kendall Regional Hospital for COVID-19, her mother, Zoila, was told chances of her survival were low.
Pamela has Down syndrome. While there is nothing that suggests people with Down syndrome are at a higher risk of complications from COVID-19 itself, they are at a higher risk developing health conditions that could lead to those complications. Pamela was intubated and put on a ventilator for 10 days, but she recovered and was released from the hospital to a round of applause from employees. To hear her emotional story, click here for the report from NBC 6’s Dan Grossman.
No. 6 - Weatherwise, a front arriving Thursday in South Florida will bring a very slight cool down and raise afternoon storm chances for the end of the work week. Keep your NBC 6 app handy for push alerts on any severe weather as well as First Alert Doppler 6000.
