It’s Friday, January 1st - and NBC 6 has the top stories for the day.
No. 1 - Florida has identified its first case of the new and more infectious strain of COVID-19.
The patient is a man in his 20s from Martin County, according to the Florida Department of Health. He has no history of travel. Health officials in California identified the state's first case of the new strain on Wednesday. On Tuesday, Colorado health officials confirmed the nation's first case of the B.1.1.7 coronavirus variant that was initially discovered in the United Kingdom.
No. 2 - Cleveland Clinic's Weston Hospital has reached its COVID-19 vaccine supply limit and thus ceased offering appointments to patients for the time being.
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The press release noted that the hospital has already scheduled 2,200 vaccinations for the upcoming week. Appointments will become available again when the doses are back in supply. Though the hospital did not mark a specific timeline, it said it was working with the state to obtain more doses by "early next week." Updated information should be available on Cleveland Clinic's website. In the meantime, Cleveland Clinic Martin Health and Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital are currently continuing to schedule appointments.
No. 3 - The past two presidents have jumped back and forth between opening up and closing down American access to Cuba.
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President Obama opened up travel and business, and President Trump closed it down and added new restrictions. So what could happen under a Biden administration? Click here for the story from NBC 6’s Phil Prazan , including an interview with former U.S. Rep. Joe Garcia.
No. 4 - When the calendar turning to 2021 on Friday, several new laws will take effect in Florida - including ones seeing the end to a long time industry in the state and a slight increase in the minimum wage.
Florida’s minimum wage will rise a total of nine cents - from $8.56 an hour to $8.65 - as part of voters passing Amendment 2 during November’s election. The amendment will eventually raise the minimum wage in Florida to $15 an hour by 2026. Greyhound racing comes to an end Friday, the result of an amendment which passed in 2018 with nearly 70 percent of the vote. Click here for a complete list of the new laws taking effect in Florida.
No. 5 - Any debate about who should start for the Miami Dolphins this week at quarterback ended Thursday with backup Ryan Fitzpatrick's positive test for COVID-19.
Fitzpatrick, who came off the bench to rescue his team last week, is expected to miss Sunday’s regular-season finale at Buffalo as Miami tries to clinch an AFC wild-card berth. The Dolphins placed Fitzpatrick on the reserve-COVID-19 list. Coach Brian Flores had already said rookie Tua Tagovailoa will start his ninth game in a row Sunday, to the consternation of many Miami fans who prefer Fitzpatrick. The 38-year-old veteran replaced Tagovailoa last week in the fourth quarter and orchestrated an improbable comeback win at Las Vegas that allowed the Dolphins (10-5) to retain control of their playoff chances.
No. 6 - Weatherwise, 2021 is finally here, but Friday will feel much the same as last year across South Florida with high temps and spotty showers. Keep your NBC 6 app handy for push alerts on any severe weather as well as First Alert Doppler 6000.
