WUSF will be providing the latest news and information on coronavirus in Tampa Bay and across the state. Here are the latest developments:
Here are the latest figures as of 11 a.m. Tuesday, May 12, according to the Florida Department of Health:
40,804 – Florida Residents | 1,119 – Non-Florida Residents | 1,779 – Deaths
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More Pinellas COVID-19 Patients Moved From Facilities
Two Pinellas County nursing homes have evacuated patients at the recommendation of a task force monitoring coronavirus at long-term care facilities.
The Tampa Bay Times is reporting that 15 total patients were removed Monday from the St. Petersburg Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and the Gulf Shore Care Center in Pinellas Park.
The county’s Long-Term Care Task Force made the decision after speaking with state officials about the facilities, the Times reported.
Dozens of patients and staff at facilities in Pinellas County have died from COVID-19 in recent weeks. According to the Florida Department of Health, a total of 1,819 residents of facilities in Florida have tested positive and a majority have been moved to other locations.
The state says 1,697 staff at long term care facilities in Florida also have tested positive.
- WUSF Staff
Why The Pandemic Could Be An Opportunity For Entrepreneurs
The U.S. is facing its worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, with unemployment in the double digits. But for people looking to start a business, one expert says the road ahead might lead to opportunity.
Rebecca White directs the University of Tampa’s Lowth Entrepreneurship Center. She says people out of work might find it easier to create a new job rather than find one.
“You're probably going to see an increase in what you might call necessity entrepreneurship,” White said. After 9/11, there was a burst of startups focused on security.
The Great Recession led to new companies in real estate and finance. White says entrepreneurs will likely focus on education in the coming years. [Read more]
-- Bradley George
MLB Owners Approve Plan To Play Ball In July
Major League Baseball owners have given the go-ahead to making a proposal to the players' union that could lead to the coronavirus-delayed season starting around the Fourth of July weekend in ballparks without fans, the Associated Press is reporting.
The plan, according to a person familiar with the decision, said the plan envisions expanding the designated hitter to the National League for 2020.
Spring training would start in early to mid-June. Each team would play about 82 regular-season games, most against opponents in its own division. The Tampa Bay Rays play in the American League Eastern Division.
Postseason play would be expanded from 10 clubs to 14 by doubling wild cards in each league to four.
Florida saw baseball's Spring Training in Florida and Arizona apruptly cut short in March as COVID-19 began to spread across the country.
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