Pedestrian injured in crash on McGregor BoulevardFamily of Eagles: FGCU volleyball star graduates with Master’s Degree
FORT MYERS Pedestrian injured in crash on McGregor Boulevard The Fort Myers Police Department is investigating a crash that left at least one person injured Saturday night.
Family of Eagles: FGCU volleyball star graduates with Master’s Degree Saturday marked a special day for Florida Gulf Coast University as more than 1,800 students graduated. For one student-athlete, graduating from FGCU runs in the family.
lehigh acres LCSO: Man shot by car owner protecting property The Lee County Sheriff’s Office responded to a shooting in Lehigh Acres early Saturday morning.
NORTH FORT MYERS Lee County residents wait hours for D-SNAP assistance The supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) is at the Lee Civic Center all weekend, ready to help southwest Florida.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA First eaglet hatches in famous SWFL eagle nest Welcome E24! The third eaglet from the nest of M15 and F23 has hatched according to the Southwest Florida eagle camera.
Rock for Equality: SWFL non-profit hosts benefit concert for Palestine A Southwest Florida non-profit hosted a benefit concert on Friday night to help with humanitarian aid in Palestine.
Warm, breezy Saturday with a few showers possible The Weather Authority is forecasting a breezy, warm weekend in store across Southwest Florida, with the chance of a few showers, particularly on Saturday.
CAPE CORAL Active investigation underway in South Cape Coral Cape Coral police are investigating at a home on Southwest 49th Terrace in South Cape Coral early Saturday morning.
16 transported after 2 airboats crash in Collier County According to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, two airboats crashed south of U.S. 41 east between mile markers 74 and 75, leaving well over a dozen people injured.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA New bill filed: Auto shop and law enforcement must work together to solve hit-and-run crashes There could be new detectives on the block, located in your nearest auto shop. A new state bill aims at trying to stop hit-and-run drivers from getting away.
CAPE CORAL New leash on life; Cape Coral shelter dog beats cancer with drug being tested for humans A drug now being studied in human trials to kill cancerous tumors, is already approved and helping animals.
CAPE CORAL City of Cape Coral planning a new interchange with I-75 The city of Cape Coral is in the early stages of planning a new interchange with I-75, an idea that has been discussed for more than a decade.
Tracking invasive species after hurricanes Hurricanes Helene and Milton didn’t just bring wind and rain, they brought new threats to southwest Florida’s ecosystem.
PUNTA GORDA Woman in Punta Gorda shooting charged with 2nd degree murder A woman in a homicide investigation on Nasturtium Drive in Punta Gorda has been charged with 2nd-degree murder.
Lee County mother continuing fight to get children a bus stop The school district already told her she lives too close to the school to qualify for a bus route but she has not given up.
FORT MYERS Pedestrian injured in crash on McGregor Boulevard The Fort Myers Police Department is investigating a crash that left at least one person injured Saturday night.
Family of Eagles: FGCU volleyball star graduates with Master’s Degree Saturday marked a special day for Florida Gulf Coast University as more than 1,800 students graduated. For one student-athlete, graduating from FGCU runs in the family.
lehigh acres LCSO: Man shot by car owner protecting property The Lee County Sheriff’s Office responded to a shooting in Lehigh Acres early Saturday morning.
NORTH FORT MYERS Lee County residents wait hours for D-SNAP assistance The supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) is at the Lee Civic Center all weekend, ready to help southwest Florida.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA First eaglet hatches in famous SWFL eagle nest Welcome E24! The third eaglet from the nest of M15 and F23 has hatched according to the Southwest Florida eagle camera.
Rock for Equality: SWFL non-profit hosts benefit concert for Palestine A Southwest Florida non-profit hosted a benefit concert on Friday night to help with humanitarian aid in Palestine.
Warm, breezy Saturday with a few showers possible The Weather Authority is forecasting a breezy, warm weekend in store across Southwest Florida, with the chance of a few showers, particularly on Saturday.
CAPE CORAL Active investigation underway in South Cape Coral Cape Coral police are investigating at a home on Southwest 49th Terrace in South Cape Coral early Saturday morning.
16 transported after 2 airboats crash in Collier County According to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, two airboats crashed south of U.S. 41 east between mile markers 74 and 75, leaving well over a dozen people injured.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA New bill filed: Auto shop and law enforcement must work together to solve hit-and-run crashes There could be new detectives on the block, located in your nearest auto shop. A new state bill aims at trying to stop hit-and-run drivers from getting away.
CAPE CORAL New leash on life; Cape Coral shelter dog beats cancer with drug being tested for humans A drug now being studied in human trials to kill cancerous tumors, is already approved and helping animals.
CAPE CORAL City of Cape Coral planning a new interchange with I-75 The city of Cape Coral is in the early stages of planning a new interchange with I-75, an idea that has been discussed for more than a decade.
Tracking invasive species after hurricanes Hurricanes Helene and Milton didn’t just bring wind and rain, they brought new threats to southwest Florida’s ecosystem.
PUNTA GORDA Woman in Punta Gorda shooting charged with 2nd degree murder A woman in a homicide investigation on Nasturtium Drive in Punta Gorda has been charged with 2nd-degree murder.
Lee County mother continuing fight to get children a bus stop The school district already told her she lives too close to the school to qualify for a bus route but she has not given up.
As of 6 p.m. Saturday, there are 763 positive cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Florida, 105 up from the last update earlier Saturday, which is 200 total new cases confirmed on the day. 706 of the cases are Florida residents, 57 of them are non-Florida residents. There are now 12 total deaths in Florida, up from 10 Friday night. One person who previously tested positive for COVID-19 has died in Broward County and one in Duval County. STATEWIDE NUMBERS Total number of cases: 763 (up from 658) Number of Florida residents: 706 (up from 603) Number of non-Florida residents: 57 (up from 55) SOUTHWEST FLORIDA NUMBERS Total number of cases: 43 Lee County: 17 (up from 14) Collier County: 28 (up from 27) Charlotte County: 2 (unchanged) Glades County: 0 Hendry County: 0 There have been 9,338 total tests administered in the state of Florida, with 763 positive tests. 7,570 tests have come back negative, and the remainder are pending, according to the FDOH website. LATEST CLOSURES: Southwest Florida business updates and store closings Saturday COVID-19 headlines: Southwest Florida blood supplies are critically low, but you can help Governor says more mobile testing sites being prepared Gov. Ron DeSantis held a press conference at the State Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee Saturday, where he confirmed more mobile testing sites are being readied to respond to to the hundreds of people being tested for COVID-19 on a daily basis in the state. The governor stressed mobile testing sites and response are being orchestrated in South Florida counties of Palm Beach County, Miami-Dade and Broward, where roughly 50% of COVID-19 cases exist in Florida, DeSantis said. The governor said each of these testing sites is equipped to gather 2,500 collection samples. WATCH NEWS CONFERENCES LIVE BELOW: The coronavirus task force held a briefing with President Donald Trump at the White House Saturday. Part 1 Part 2 Senator Scott shares his 30-day plan against coronavirus U.S. Sen. Rick Scott shared a list of steps he believes, if all Floridians and Americans were to follow, would significantly decrease the effects of COVID-19 in the United States. See the list he shared in a tweet below. He says those guidelines, if followed, could bring society back to normal in about 30 days. Guidelines shared on U.S. Sen. Rick Scott’s official Twitter account. Americans have been shaken and lives have been changed. We need to take drastic steps NOW to end the spread of the #Coronavirus in the US. If we do, I believe we can get back to normal, or close to it, in 30 days. pic.twitter.com/7MZ9MPfjJl — Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) March 21, 2020 Florida Agriculture Commissioner asks governor to implement “stay-at-home” order Nikki Fried, the Florida Agriculture Commissioner, asked Gov. Ron DeSantis to implement a statewide “stay-at-home” order in response to dramatically increasing COVID-19 cases in the state. She recognized the effort by the governor to stop the spread of COVID- 19 in the state. But Fried said, at the rate of cases that are developing, she believes a “say-at-home” order is necessary. I want to recognize the difficult choices @GovRonDeSantis has made during this #coronavirus crisis. Data shows Florida is a week behind California in #COVID19 cases. So, I’m asking the Governor to issue a statewide “stay-at-home” order. This difficult decision will save lives. — Commissioner Nikki Fried (@NikkiFriedFL) March 21, 2020 DeSantis orders elective medical services be prohibited Gov. DeSantis also issued Executive Order 20-72 Friday to prohibit non-essential elective medical procedures. Per the governor’s office, all hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, office surgery centers, dental, orthodontic and endodontic offices and other health care practitioners’ offices in the state are prohibited from providing any medically unnecessary, non-urgent or non-emergency procedure or surgery. The governor’s offices says, if delayed, these are medical services that do not place a patients immediate health, safety or well-being at risk, or will, if delayed, not contribute to the worsening of a serious or life-threatening medical condition. PRICE GOUGING Florida Attorney General activated Florida’s price gouging hotline, encouraging people to report big price differences. Complaints can be filed by phone or online. Price gouging can be reported by calling 1-866-9NO-SCAM or by visiting MyFloridaLegal.com. For tips on reporting price gouging, click here. RESTAURANT DINING ROOMS CLOSE Governor DeSantis issued Executive Order 20-71 Friday afternoon directing all Florida restaurants and other food establishments to suspend any on-premises consumption of food or alcohol. Those establishments, however, will be permitted to operate their kitchens for the purpose of providing delivery or take-out services. MORE. SWFL CASE BREAKDOWN As of the most recent results, this is the breakdown of SWFL cases: COLLIER – 25 cases: 30-year-old woman, traveled to Spain 66-year-old man, traveled to France, Italy, Spain 33-year-old man, traveled to Spain 26-year-old man, traveled to France, Italy, Spain 47-year-old man, traveled to France, Italy, Spain 82-year-old man, no travel 31-year-old woman, traveled to Egypt 59-year-old man, traveled to Japan 77-year-old man, no travel – no contact with known case 49-year-old woman, no travel – no contact with known case 76-year-old man, traveled to NY – contact with known case 28-year-old man, traveled to Italy 73-year-old man, traveled to Egypt 68-year-old woman, traveled to Egypt 64-year-old woman, traveled to Egypt 64-year-old man, traveled to FL/HI – non-FL resident 79-year-old woman, traveled to CT – non-FL resident 19-year-old man, traveled to Italy 80-year-old man, unknown travel 64-year-old man, no travel 59-year-old man, traveled to Canada 62-year-old woman, no travel 61-year-old man, traveled to Canada 76-year-old man, traveled to St. Martin 75-year-old man, no travel – no contact with known case LEE – 14 cases: 80-year-old man, no travel – contact with known case 69-year-old man, no travel – unknown if contact 79-year-old man, no travel – contact with known case 67-year-old man, no travel – no contact 66-year-old man, traveled to Colombia and Ecuador 72-year-old woman, travel unknown – contact with known case 77-year-old man (deceased), no travel 77-year-old woman (deceased), traveled to Dominican Republic 77-year-old man, traveled to Dominican Republic 65-year-old woman, unknown travel, non-FL resident 57-year-old man, traveled to FL, France, UK – non-FL resident 72-year-old woman, no travel – unknown if contact, non-FL resident 67-year-old man, no travel – contact with known case 23-year-old, unknown if travel related CHARLOTTE – 2 cases: 54-year-old woman, traveled to Egypt and Israel 55-year-old man, unknown travel IF YOU FEEL SICK: The Florida Department of Health has opened a 24-hour COVID-19 Call Center at 1-866-779-6121. Questions may also be emailed to covid-19@flhealth.gov. Email responses will be sent during call center hours. LINK: Florida Department of Health COVID-19 updates <span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span> *The map is best viewed on a desktop computer. If you don’t see the map above tap HERE for a fullscreen version. Tweets by winknews