Miami-Dade

6 Things to Know – Officers Furious Over Potential Furloughs, State Colleges Could Reopen This Fall

It’s Tuesday, May 19th - and NBC 6 has the top stories you need to know for the day

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It’s Tuesday, May 19th - and NBC 6 has the top stories you need to know for the day.

No. 1 - After close to two months of being on a near full lockdown in an effort to keep residents safe during the coronavirus pandemic, much of Broward and Miami-Dade counties were reopening Monday and joining the rest of Florida in what some call the new normal.

Miami-Dade county businesses were allowed to reopen Monday under rules set by the county's mayor, but with some new rules. The cities of Miami and Miami Beach will allow retail stores to open Wednesday, while dining in restaurants won't resume until May 27. Fort Lauderdale officials have given gyms in the area the greenlight to reopen as well, defying the county’s ordinance. Gyms will set indoor capacity at 50%, and must arrange workout stations to allow 6-feet between people.

No. 2 - From Miramar to Miami Beach, cities feeling the budget crunch from COVID-19 shutdowns are looking for savings by cutting what is often their biggest expense area: salaries.

Or, as Miramar put it in an April 24 memo, "human capital," which the city manager was determined to protect as the city faced a $23 million budget shortfall. But three weeks later, that same city manager is proposing all city employees - including police officers and firefighters - have their workweeks reduced from 40 to 32 hours for three months. Click here for more on this story from NBC 6 investigator Tony Pipitone.

No. 3 - Florida's public university system must develop a plan by month's end for letting the country's second-largest four-year college system reopen this fall, after hundreds of thousands of students were sent home in March because of the coronavirus.

The chair of the system's board of governors said Monday that university officials must present guidelines to the 17-member board at a public meeting on May 28. The guidelines will serve as a blueprint for each campus to draft individual reopening plans, which the board of governors will consider at its June meeting. In March, school campuses across the state — from grade schools to universities — began conducting classes remotely to limit the spread of the new coranavirus.

No. 4 - President Donald Trump said Monday that he has been taking hydroxychloroquine, an unproven treatment for COVID-19 that he has vigorously promoted, NBC News reported.

Trump said that he doesn't believe he was exposed to the virus but that he decided to take the drug after having consulted with the White House physician. He also claimed that essential workers, including doctors and nurses, were taking the drug to prevent contracting the disease caused by the coronavirus. The Food and Drug Administration has warned against using the drug for COVID-19 outside of hospital settings because of a risk of serious heart problems. There are no approved treatments for COVID-19.

No. 5 - The Archdiocese of Miami is set to resume public masses in Miami-Dade and Broward counties next week, while services at Monroe County resumed Monday.

Parishes in Miami-Dade and Broward will resume daily masses on Tuesday, May 26. That's according to a letter from Archbishop Thomas Wenski that was tweeted out by the pastor at the Church of the Little Flower in Coral Gables. The letter indicates capacity will be limited. Church-goers will have to wear masks and keep them, except when they receive communion. Each family will have to stay six feet apart from other families.

No. 6 - Weatherwise, rain chances pick up by Tuesday afternoon across South Florida along with temperatures that could reach near record highs. Keep your NBC 6 app handy for push alerts on any severe weather as well as First Alert Doppler 6000.

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