Big gamble

Published: Aug. 10, 2020, 4:15 a.m.

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ big gamble is underway — public schools are beginning to reopen amid the worst pandemic in a century. And if county health officials don’t think it's safe, too bad. The Governor has tossed them out of the decision loop.
Also, on today’s Sunrise:
— Smaller school districts have the dubious distinction of being first for reopening, serving as a test run for the rest.
— Remember how DeSantis berated the media for focusing on the number of new COVID-19 cases? He insisted hospital and ICU admissions were a better indicator of how the state is doing. Florida just set a record over the past week, with 3,355 people hospitalized for COVID-19. It might be time for the Governor to find a new metric.
— Florida Department of Health reported 77 more fatalities Sunday, bringing the state’s death toll to 8,315, including more than 1,100 in the past week alone. The total number of infections in Florida since the start of the pandemic is now almost 533,000. But DeSantis is saying it would actually be a good time to hold a convention in a Florida hotel.
— Sunrise speaks with some of the people on the front lines of the COVID-19 battle in Miami-Dade, including a nurse, a teacher, and a construction worker. They want Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott to stop playing political games and approve the coronavirus stimulus package known as the “HEROES Act.”
— They’re also tired of hearing wealthy politicians (like Scott) say $600 a week is too much for people who lost their jobs and their health insurance because of the pandemic.
— And the latest with Florida Man, who is accused of felony assault with a Slurpee.