Disaster
Florida is now amid a major disaster after the President has made it official with a formal declaration. As of Wednesday night, there have been 1682 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Florida and 22 fatalities.
Also, on today’s Sunrise:
— Despite the growing number of confirmed cases and fatalities from coronavirus, Gov. Ron DeSantis is still refusing to impose a statewide lockdown or stay-at-home order. Instead, he’s throwing shade on the states that have already done that, saying they made the situation worse. He’s also imposing additional restrictions on anyone who travels to Florida from the New York City area — including Floridians who visited the Big Apple.
— The state unemployment office is staffing up to deal with a flood of claims from people laid off because of the coronavirus. Sen. José Javier Rodriguez has been prodding the DeSantis administration to cut the red tape and make it easier for workers to file.
— Some can credit U.S. Sen. Rick Scott as the person who made Florida a state with the stingiest unemployment system in the country. Now, Scott is threatening to tank a federal coronavirus bailout bill, saying the unemployment benefits are too generous.
— The University of Central Florida has a new president — former University of Missouri Chancellor Alexander Cartwright. The Board of Governors of the state university system approved the UCF trustees' decision to hire him.
— And the latest with Florida Man, featuring two cases of indecent exposure from Jupiter (the city, not the planet).