It’s Thursday, December 30th - and NBC 6 has the top stories for the day.
No. 1 - Broward County will be distributing COVID-19 at-home rapid test kits, while supplies last, beginning Thursday.
The test kits will be distributed from the drive-through, curbside service lanes outside nine county libraries. Residents who wish to participate must show proof of Broward County residency and are limited to two kits per household. Test kits will not be distributed inside the libraries. For a complete list of locations, click on this link.
No. 2 - Florida set its daily COVID-19 case record Wednesday, recording nearly 47,000 new infections as the omicron variant surges in the days after the holidays, according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Get South Florida local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC South Florida newsletters.
The 46,923 cases recorded for Tuesday pushed Florida’s total to 4,012,152 since the pandemic began. Tuesday's total is the highest reported by the state since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. Florida previously broke the record just a few days ago, on Christmas Eve, with 32,874 cases. The state's death toll stands at 62,390. Cases in the state have risen sharply since the rise of the omicron variant during the holidays.
No. 3 - Students at the University of Miami will return to remote learning for the start of the upcoming semester.
UM's President, Dr. Julio Frenk, made the announcement for those students attending the Coral Gables and Marine campuses for the first two weeks of the spring semester starting January 18th. In-person instruction is expected to resume on Monday, January 31st. Students in UM's medical school are advised to follow guidance from UHealth and the Miller School of Medicine. Proof of a negative COVID test within 48 to 72 hours of arrival on campus will be required for returning students, and residential students will test again upon arrival.
Local
Get updates on COVID-19 in your inbox. Click here to sign up for our weekly coronavirus newsletter.
No. 4 - A judge decided Wednesday that the suspect in a hit-and-run crash in Wilton Manors that killed two children and hospitalized four more will be held in jail without bond.
Sean Charles Greer was arrested late Tuesday after physical evidence led detectives to him following the Monday afternoon crash, the Broward Sheriff's Office said. During a court appearance Wednesday, deputies led Greer away after he apparently objected to attending the proceeding, scuffled with a deputy and knocked over a podium. The court session was delayed for a minute as he was taken from the room. The 27-year-old is accused of running over six children, killing 6-year-old Andrea Fleming and 5-year-old Paris Kyli-Ann Jones.
No. 5 - As COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc on South Florida, restaurant owners are taking a step back to figure out how to adjust.
Carlos Gazitua is an executive member of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association. He says the hospitality industry must pivot once again, even reverting back to the changes restaurants had to make at the start of the pandemic. He says part of the plan is to refocus on take out, try to rely on minimal staff and get creative with technology. In Miami, Andreas Schreiner, a founder of the open-air restaurant Leku says they had to make the tough decision to close for 10 days. The good news, they’re booked and busy. Schreiner says people are still excited to go out to eat. Click here to find out why it’s requiring extra efforts in a report from NBC 6’s Julie Leonardi.
No. 6 - A team of civilians, residents of Surfside, took up the task of investigating a 55-year-old cold case and their unwavering efforts led to a closed case.
Paul Novack is one of five Surfside residents who made it their mission to ensure Danny Goldman’s case was not forgotten. 10 years ago, Novack and his colleagues formed a volunteer investigative team and re-opened Danny's cold case. The group began a relentless search for answers along with the Miami-Dade Police Department's Cold Case Unit. The day before his 18th birthday, in March 1966, Danny Goldman was kidnapped from his Surfside home. The intruder demanded a ransom, but the call for the money never came. The key to cracking the case, Novack says, was to look at the full context of the times. Click here for more on this cold case mystery in a report from NBC 6’s Laura Rodriguez.
