Your recap of some of the biggest news from around the state that impacts you in South Florida. Let's start with the Florida Department of Revenue extending the property tax payment deadline for all properties in all counties without penalty from March 31st to April 15th. Also regarding COVID-19, Florida’s Surgeon General, Scott Rivkees has issued a public health advisory to Florida’s seniors, 65 and older, to stay at home. Governor DeSantis backs the advisory and is asking for full compliance.
According to FlightAware data, 66% of previously scheduled flights to Florida from JFK and LaGuardia have occurred this week despite New York’s mandated stay-at-home order. Governor DeSantis has stated it’s likely that at least one passenger on every flight to our state has the virus. The National Guard has been deployed to screen incoming passengers at all South Florida airports. Keeping on track with transportation, Brightline has temporarily suspended service due to the coronavirus and confirmed they’ve laid off 250 of their 300 employees this week. They said they intend to rehire most of those employees once service resumes.
Lastly, Dr. Alex Hsu who treated multiple patients with COVID-19 at the Northwest Medical Center in Broward has died. He’s the first physician in our state to die from the virus.
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