Dr. John Lanza, director of the Florida Department of Health in Escambia County, gave a COVID-19 update to the Escambia County Commission this morning. However, he wasn’t allowed by his superiors to…
Tag: Coronavirus
More Coronavirus news
State Prison Visitations Suspended The News Service of Florida reports: The Florida Department of Corrections has suspended visits at all state prisons, as the state attempts to combat the spread of the…
Local event cancellations
Brian Regan Show Postponed Due to Mr. Regan’s travel concerns, the Brian Regan show scheduled for Thursday, March 12 at 7:30 p.m. has been postponed. A new date has not been determined…
Coronavirus update
Overnight developments: The NBA suspended its season “until further notice” after the Utah Jazz’s Rudy Gobert tested positive. (ESPN) Tom Hanks wrote on Instagram that he and his wife, Rita Wilson, had both…
County will be available for the press today
Press Release: Immediately following the Committee of the Whole meeting on Thursday, March 12, the following county staff will be available to respond to questions regarding preventative actions the county is taking…
County steps up preventative efforts in county buildings
Per a request from Commissioner Lumon May, Escambia County is taking additional preventative action to ensure  community centers, libraries and other public buildings are sanitized. “We are doing everything possible to keep…
County dysfunction hurting the community
Since last week, I’ve focused on the poor communication from the county on the coronavirus. Other counties have been proactive, while Escambia has been barely reactive. For whatever reason, the county administration…
TDC: Coronavirus hurting tourism
This morning the Florida Department of Health hosted its first weekly conference call with its private sector and tourism partners (Emergency Support Function #18) to disseminate the most up-to-date information regarding COVID-19….
Breaking news: UWF may switch to online classes
Inweekly contacted University of West Florida president, Dr. Martha Saunders, about whether the university had any plans to close the campus due to the potential spread of the coronavirus. “I think the…
County holds closed door meeting on coronavirus
Yesterday afternoon, Escambia County Emergency Management and the Florida Department of Health in Escambia County held a joint meeting for “community partners” at the Escambia County Emergency Operations Center. Inweekly was not informed…
Rick Scott calls for transparency on coronavirus
The deaths of residents of Lee and Santa Rosa counties due to the coronavirus last Friday were the first two outside of the state of Washington at the time. U.S. Senator Rick…
Gaetz tests negative for coronavirus
Congressman Matt Gaetz tweeted an hour ago that his COVID-19 test results came back negative, but he will remain in self-quarantine through Thursday afternoon at the advice of medical professionals: “I’ve just been…
Presser notes: Coronavirus, New Hire
By Jeremy Morrison While the COVID-19 coronavirus dominated Monday’s city press conference, Pensacola City Administrator Keith Wilkins also announced a new hire, some promotions within the Pensacola Police Department, and encouraged people…
Lee County holds presser on coronavirus response. Escambia recycles press releases
Lee County government held a press conference yesterday  to reassure the public that they have plans to contain the spread of COVID-19 coronavirus. The news conference included representatives of the Lee County Sheriff’s…
DeSantis declares Coronavirus State of Emergency
BY Christine Sexton TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday declared a state of emergency that would broaden his powers to respond to the novel coronavirus, including allowing him to deploy National…
What is Escambia County Pandemic Influenza Emergency Plan?
On its Coronavirus Flyer, the Escambia County administration listed among its action steps: “The Escambia County Pandemic Influenza Emergency Plan will be followed if needed.” Inweekly made a public record request for…
Gaetz goes into self-quarantine
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) tweeted today that he is among the Republicans in self-quarantine after learning that he came into contact with someone who tested positive for the coronavirus at last month’s…
FDOH issues international travel advisory
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 9, 2020 TALLAHASSEE — The Florida Department of Health is responding to COVID-19. In an effort to keep Florida residents and visitors safe and aware about the status…
Coronavirus ‘panic’ could affect state budget; lobbyist says ‘it’s much ado about nothing’
BY Dara Kam and Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — As the stock marketed plummeted Monday, House Speaker Jose Oliva, R-Miami Lakes, indicated that fears about the novel coronavirus…
Baptist CEO talks about coronavirus testing
Last Friday morning, Inweekly caught up with Baptist Health Care CEO Mark Faulkner, who explained the testing process for the coronavirus. At the time, Baptist still hadn’t received confirmation for the feds…