It’s Friday, April 10th – and NBC 6 has the top stories you need to know for the day.
No. 1 - Miami-Dade County has issued an emergency measure ordering essential workers and customers to wear a face mask amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The order took effect at 11:59 p.m. Thursday and says people working in or visiting grocery stores, restaurants, pharmacies, construction sites, public transit vehicles, vehicles for hire, and locations where social distancing measures are not possible to wear wear facial coverings as defined by the CDC.
No. 2 - One of South Florida’s largest testing sites for the coronavirus will likely now be run by the state after the federal government decided to stop funding some drive-thru testing locations across the country.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis indicated that the state would take over funding for the facility at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, one of four in the state, which had been funded by the Department of Health and Human Services. Earlier on Thursday, the department announced that the facilities would be shut down before Vice President Mike Pence announced states would be given the option to transition into funding the locations or continue with federal assistance.
No. 3 - Florida's coronavirus death toll continued to rise Thursday, surpassing 370 as the state's confirmed cases surged to nearly 17,000 with hundreds more diagnosed in South Florida.
A total of 48 new deaths related to COVID-19 were reported Thursday, bringing the state's total to 371, according to figures released by the Florida Department of Health. Palm Beach County had the most deaths reported, at 75, while Broward had 67 and Miami-Dade had 66.
Local
No. 4 - A builder is urging Miami-Dade County to stop all non-essential construction projects to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Sergio Pino, the head of Century Homebuilders, is voluntarily closing multiple job site in the county by next week after two of his workers tested positive for COVID-19. Pino wrote a letter to Miami Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez warning him of the spread of the virus across the community through construction sites. The Mayor’s office this afternoon said that Miami-Dade Police officers are going to take a look at these sites and 60 of them have gotten visits over the last two days.
No. 5 – Good Friday takes place and will have a whole new look this year for Christians across South Florida amid the ongoing pandemic.
Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski ordered his priests last week "not to conduct any drive-by confessions, no palm pickups in front of church for Palm Sunday and no in-person Masses on Easter Sunday." Wenski streamed mass from St. Mary Cathedral with no people physically in attendance from the Archdiocese's Facebook page and will do the same for Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday.
No. 6 - Weatherwise, South Florida will see more near record high temperatures on Friday - but wet weather could arrive in the evening and make the weekend feel slightly cooler. Keep your NBC 6 app handy for push alerts on any severe weather as well as First Alert Doppler 6000.
