Inauguration ceremony for Lee Board of County CommissionersFGCU volleyball prepares to defend ASUN Tournament title
FORT MYERS Inauguration ceremony for Lee Board of County Commissioners Lee County held an inauguration ceremony for a newly appointed county commissioner and two incumbents.
FGCU FGCU volleyball prepares to defend ASUN Tournament title FGCU volleyball looks to secure its fourth straight ASUN Tournament title this week and secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers city leaders sworn in On Tuesday night, the City of Fort Myers swore in newly elected councilmember Diana Giraldo, who will take over Ward 2 for the next four years.
FORT MYERS Thomas Golisano pledges $85M to SWFL non-profits Christmas came early for non-profit foundations and agencies across Southwest Florida, thanks to Thomas Galisano.
MARCO ISLAND Marco Island City Council vacancy application period extended Marco Island City Council members have voted to extend the application period for people interested in filling a vacant seat on the council.
Deadly crash on Alligator Alley creates massive traffic backups NB at mile marker 72 The Florida Highway Patrol is responding to a crash that killed one person and injured another, shutting down northbound lanes on Alligator Alley in Collier County.
Endangered Florida panther killed by vehicle on I-75 in Lee County; 29th death in 2024 Another endangered Florida panther has been slain by a vehicle, this time on Interstate 75 in Lee County, marking the 29th death of 2024.
Officials approve roadway repavement in Lehigh Acres and Bonita Springs On Tuesday, the Lee Board of County Commissioners continued its commitment to countywide infrastructure by awarding a $1.7 million contract to pave 25.1 lane miles in northern Lehigh Acres.
Lee County commissioners allocate $5.9M for weather damaged homes The Lee County Commissioners approved allocating state funding to assist households damaged by natural disasters.
LEE COUNTY Lee Commissioners approve purchase of 5 acres in CREW for Conservation 20/20 The Lee Board of County Commissioners voted Tuesday to acquire a 5-acre parcel in southeast Lee County for the Conservation 20/20 program.
Amazon pays $66.5M for 143 acres in Fort Myers to build new warehouse Even the scaled-back version of a planned Amazon warehouse and distribution facility, the first to be located within Fort Myers city limits, will be a record-setter.
WINK NEWS 2024 Thanksgiving may break records; around 4.5M Floridians expected to travel Thanksgiving travel is a stressful endeavor, as AAA predicts nearly 4.5 million Floridians are forecast to travel 50 miles or more for the holiday.
the weather authority Clouds and humidity increase throughout your Tuesday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking higher humidity along with more clouds throughout your Tuesday afternoon.
estero Upcoming Estero council meeting to discuss land development Estero leaders are set to meet and discuss the usage of nearly 200 acres of land located north and west of Williams Road and via Coconut Point.
Pedestrian killed in crash outside Lee County Jail in Fort Myers The Fort Myers Police Department is investigating a crash involving a pedestrian outside of the Lee County Jail.
FORT MYERS Inauguration ceremony for Lee Board of County Commissioners Lee County held an inauguration ceremony for a newly appointed county commissioner and two incumbents.
FGCU FGCU volleyball prepares to defend ASUN Tournament title FGCU volleyball looks to secure its fourth straight ASUN Tournament title this week and secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers city leaders sworn in On Tuesday night, the City of Fort Myers swore in newly elected councilmember Diana Giraldo, who will take over Ward 2 for the next four years.
FORT MYERS Thomas Golisano pledges $85M to SWFL non-profits Christmas came early for non-profit foundations and agencies across Southwest Florida, thanks to Thomas Galisano.
MARCO ISLAND Marco Island City Council vacancy application period extended Marco Island City Council members have voted to extend the application period for people interested in filling a vacant seat on the council.
Deadly crash on Alligator Alley creates massive traffic backups NB at mile marker 72 The Florida Highway Patrol is responding to a crash that killed one person and injured another, shutting down northbound lanes on Alligator Alley in Collier County.
Endangered Florida panther killed by vehicle on I-75 in Lee County; 29th death in 2024 Another endangered Florida panther has been slain by a vehicle, this time on Interstate 75 in Lee County, marking the 29th death of 2024.
Officials approve roadway repavement in Lehigh Acres and Bonita Springs On Tuesday, the Lee Board of County Commissioners continued its commitment to countywide infrastructure by awarding a $1.7 million contract to pave 25.1 lane miles in northern Lehigh Acres.
Lee County commissioners allocate $5.9M for weather damaged homes The Lee County Commissioners approved allocating state funding to assist households damaged by natural disasters.
LEE COUNTY Lee Commissioners approve purchase of 5 acres in CREW for Conservation 20/20 The Lee Board of County Commissioners voted Tuesday to acquire a 5-acre parcel in southeast Lee County for the Conservation 20/20 program.
Amazon pays $66.5M for 143 acres in Fort Myers to build new warehouse Even the scaled-back version of a planned Amazon warehouse and distribution facility, the first to be located within Fort Myers city limits, will be a record-setter.
WINK NEWS 2024 Thanksgiving may break records; around 4.5M Floridians expected to travel Thanksgiving travel is a stressful endeavor, as AAA predicts nearly 4.5 million Floridians are forecast to travel 50 miles or more for the holiday.
the weather authority Clouds and humidity increase throughout your Tuesday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking higher humidity along with more clouds throughout your Tuesday afternoon.
estero Upcoming Estero council meeting to discuss land development Estero leaders are set to meet and discuss the usage of nearly 200 acres of land located north and west of Williams Road and via Coconut Point.
Pedestrian killed in crash outside Lee County Jail in Fort Myers The Fort Myers Police Department is investigating a crash involving a pedestrian outside of the Lee County Jail.
For four straight years, more manatees were found dead in Florida because they were hit by boats than ever before. That trend will break in 2020, but not on account of any good news for the state’s signature threatened species. To the contrary, researchers were tracking more manatee deaths than usual this year. As of Dec. 18, at least 593 manatees had died in Florida, according to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. That was over three times more than the five-year average for the same time period. “We did not have mass mortality, but manatees face the threat that they always do,” said Martine de Wit, a veterinarian in the state’s marine mammal lab. “That is watercraft issues.” At least 90 manatees had died because of injuries from boats, though that is an undercount. Researchers saw their work interrupted because of the coronavirus pandemic, and for weeks in the spring they did not examine carcasses to determine causes of death. “I’m convinced it’s well over 100,” said Patrick Rose, executive director of the Save the Manatee Club, about the boating-related death toll. Last year, the state reported 136 manatees killed because of watercraft collisions, out of 606 total. The FWC data for the year shows that Lee County was second in the state – behind Brevard – for manatee mortalities, with 68 deaths reported through Dec. 18, seven of those officially attributed to watercraft. Rose noted that the state’s five-year death average is inflated by an unusually high count of deaths in 2018, more than 800, when a large red tide bloom killed the beloved animals in droves. Florida did not suffer such a devastating bloom this year. The uptick in boat deaths has come alongside higher numbers of registered boats, more than 961,000 last year, according to state data. While the pandemic forced closures that limited social outings this year, boating was a notable exception. “One of the few things people could still do was go out on the water,” de Wit said. “Obviously that exposes manatees to a higher risk of boat collisions.” Rose, a boater himself, said he is not trying to vilify everyone on the water. Smart boaters, he said, are careful in no-wake and protected zones and call rescue hotlines when they spot a manatee in distress. But the animals congregate in plenty of places where the state does not strictly regulate speed. Even when necropsies were put off this year, de Wit said, officials kept going out to rescue manatees. As of Dec. 11, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission had tracked 101 rescues, up from 96 total the previous year. Of those, at least 27 animals had been hit by boats. Manatees face many threats, both human-caused and natural. As of early December, rescuers had helped four caught in crab traps and five tangled in fishing line. Though de Wit said about two-thirds of manatees examined this summer and fall with known causes of death were hurt by boaters, cold temperatures earlier in the year killed others. Forty-five manatees died because of cold stress by early December. Rose said that figure might rise because of a quick temperature drop before the holidays, before all manatees moved to warmer water. Brevard County far and away led the state with 143 manatee deaths by early December. Algal blooms and poor water quality have further depleted seagrasses that manatees need for food, Rose said. They are forced to swim to unfamiliar areas. “As they’re moving, it actually makes them more vulnerable to boat traffic,” Rose said. Of the counties around greater Tampa Bay, Manatee saw the most deaths by Dec. 11 at 25, fifth in the state. Pinellas and Hillsborough were slightly behind, with 20 each. Hillsborough logged nine deaths because of boats, Manatee had eight and Pinellas had six. The state numbers are not comprehensive because some manatees die in remote areas and are never found, de Wit said. Researchers do not know exactly how many manatees live in Florida either. The latest estimate from the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission suggested at least 7,250. A few years ago, the federal government decided to reclassify manatees from endangered to threatened. The yearly death reports show the many perils the species still faces, Rose said, factors he expects to worsen as more people move to the state and more boaters hit the water. Many manatees have become dependent on wintering in warm water discharged from power plants, he said, a resource that could go away as people transition to an economy built on sources like solar and wind power. That will put additional pressure on the state’s springs, which draw their own concerns as businesses pull water from the Floridan aquifer, Rose said. Altogether, he said, the threats mean future manatee populations could struggle to recover as quickly after mass die-off events like a big Red Tide. “I don’t see that we’re in a position to be able to relax in terms of what the future holds for manatees,” Rose said. If you see an ailing manatee, the state asks that you call and report it to 1-888-404-FWCC (1-888-404-3922). Boaters are urged to abide by speed regulations, avoid motoring over shallow seagrass beds and to keep their powerboats at least 50 feet from any manatees they see.
After a cold start, we will begin to thaw out around Southwest Florida for your Sunday. Expect a beautiful day with a mix of sun and clouds, and highs topping out around 70 degrees. The warming trend continues into the workweek, with highs trending from the mid-70s Monday to the lower 80s by New Year’s Eve. Speaking of New Year’s Eve, a cold front will approach from the west on Thursday. There is lots of uncertainty of its timing at this time, and whether or not rain will impact New Year’s Eve festivities. For now, err on the side of caution for your plans Thursday night.
New strains of COVID-19 have caused alarm and concern in the United Kingdom and South Africa, with many people worried the mutations could complicate vaccine efforts that have only recently gotten underway. At least one doctor, however, voiced optimism that the newly developed shots could also be effective against mutated strains of the virus. “There’s good reason to believe the vaccines will be effective,” Dr. Uzma Syed said on “CBS This Morning: Saturday.” She continued, “In fact, the manufacturers are testing them because the vaccine produces immunity in many different ways.” The mutated virus strain detected in the U.K. has forced as many as 80 countries to shut their borders to the island nation. The United States will require travelers from there to show a negative COVID-19 test before boarding their flights. Dr. Anthony Fauci was also asked about the new strain in an interview with CBSN’s Anne Marie Green Wednesday, and he also downplayed possible concerns. “This vaccine does not drift… it does not drift the way influenza [vaccine] does,” he said, expressing confidence that adjustments would be made if needed. He added that most viral mutations, like those that normally occur with the influenza virus, “have no relevant functional impact.” Fauci also said influenza changed at a more rapid pace than COVID-19 appears to, and the current Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are different from past inoculations and will likely withstand these mutations. Dr. Syed, who heads the COVID-19 task force at Good Samaritan Hospital in Long Island, New York, urged Americans to worry more about keeping up with COVID-19 health guidelines. “The most important thing to remember is the tools that we have to fight transmission of this virus are still effective against this variant, and those include wearing a mask, socially distancing, and really avoiding indoor gatherings with people that are outside of your household,” she said. Syed’s advice comes as post-pandemic travel has hit a new high, with the TSA reporting more than 7 million people cleared for flights out of U.S. airports in the week before Christmas. Syed called the increase in travel coupled with winter weather forcing more gatherings to be held indoors “alarming.” “Our hospitals are already full of patients,” she said. “We want people to know with over 300,000 that lost their lives, we are doing everything that we can every day to save lives.” Syed urges those who must travel to quarantine themselves before and after their arrival. “Having a negative test right before your travel does not, in fact, clear you of infection,” she explained. “You may be incubating, you may have been exposed during your travel. So it’s really prudent to continue quarantining after you arrived at your destination for about two weeks.”
Two German WWII graves bearing Nazi swastikas have been removed from Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery and replaced with new headstones. The pair of headstones had become a long controversy over whether they were historical artifacts worth preserving or emblems of hate that should be destroyed, CBS affiliate KENS-TV reported. The cemetery director, Aubrey David, led several workers to the graves of German prisoners of war Alfred P. Kafka and Georg Forst at around 8:15 a.m. Wednesday. “Clearly, it took a long time for this to happen, and it’s obviously the right thing to have been done,” said Michael L. “Mikey” Weinstein, founder and president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, which advocates against unwanted religious proselytizing in the armed services. After learning about the gravestones last May, the foundation demanded that Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilke order them removed. The group also wanted Wilke to make “an immediate and heartfelt apology to all United States veterans and their families.” The VA refused, saying that it has a responsibility to preserve “historic resources,” even if they acknowledge divisive historical figures or events. But members of Congress, including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Reps. Will Hurd of San Antonio and Kay Granger of Fort Worth, responded by demanding the removal of the gravestones. “I’m glad that the headstones have been replaced,” Rep. Joaquin Castro. “It’s jarring to think that symbols of the Third Reich and the Nazi regime would stand in an American military cemetery.” It’s unclear if a third headstone that also bears Nazi symbols in Fort Douglas Post Cemetery in Utah has also been removed. In June, when the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced it would begin the process of replacing the headstones, VA Secretary Robert Wilkie wrote: “Americans must always remember the horror of the Nazi regime and why so many Americans sacrificed so much to free the world from its reign of terror. It is understandably upsetting to our Veterans and their families to see Nazi inscriptions near those who gave their lives for this nation. That’s why VA will initiate the process required to replace these POW headstones.”
The Mayflower carried some of the first European settlers across the Atlantic Ocean to North America, 400 years ago this year. To commemorate the anniversary, another vessel is recreating that voyage, with the help of artificial intelligence. “We don’t know how it’s going to go. Is it going to make it across the Atlantic?” software engineer and emerging technology specialist Rosie Lickorish told CBS News’ Roxana Saberi. “Fingers crossed that it does have a successful first voyage.” The vessel, docked in the harbor of Plymouth, England, will rely on the latest navigation technology when it sets out to sea — but it won’t be carrying a crew or captain. “We’ve got all sorts of cameras… We’ve got global positioning systems on either side,” robotics expert Brett Phaneuf said. What it won’t have, he said, is “people space.” Instead the ship will be guided by artificial intelligence designed by IBM. Phaneuf explained how the technology is supposed to work. “It looks at its own cameras like eyes, it looks at the radar, it looks at all sorts of other sensors,” he said. “Then it charts its own course and it can deal with unique situations without any human input.” Those situations include encountering other ships during the voyage — something software engineer Ollie Thompson is working hard to train the ship’s programming to recognize using more than a million different images. “We’re simulating what she’s seeing,” he said of the boat. Programmers are also setting the ship’s destination to Plymouth, Massachusetts to retrace the Mayflower’s four centuries-old passage. It took the wooden merchant ship 66 days to transport dozens of pilgrims across the Atlantic. A replica sailed from England to Massachusetts in the 1950s, and is still docked there today. But Phenauf, who grew up near Plymouth, Massachusetts, wanted to mark the Mayflower’s famous past by looking ahead instead. “I thought, well, we should build a ship that speaks to the next 400 years. What the marine enterprise will look like then, as opposed to what it looked like 400 years ago,” he said. An international team turned his vision into the solar-and-wind-powered Mayflower autonomous ship. Its mission is to learn more about Earth’s oceans by gathering data on plastic pollution, warming waters and their effects on marine life. Software developer Rosie Likorish said the autonomous ship is a more cost-effective way to perform the research. “It’s very expensive at the moment for scientists actually go out on these research missions,” she said. “So having autonomous vessels like the Mayflower Autonomous Ship is a really important step and kind of actually enabling us to go out to these dangerous places and learn a lot more.” In addition to cost-saving, not having a crew means the size of the vessel can be compact, and there are no concerns over someone getting sick or hurt. Brett Phenauf said his biggest worry would be if something broke. If the boat capsized, the team plans to track it via satellite and salvage it. And if the unknown voyage succeeds, Phenauf says it would commemorate history while charting a new path. He said, “I want people to look back on this 400 years from now and think about how different this was from what other people were doing.”
A business in Southwest Florida says its property was stolen on Christmas. Lonnie Bailey, the business operations manager of Latitude Tournament Boats in Fort Myers, said Saturday that two boat motors were stolen from the business during the holiday. Having to replace thousands of dollars in boat parts wasn’t the Christmas gift that Bailey and the business owner were looking forward to. They hope investigators can find who stole from their business. For Bailey and the owner, who is his childhood friend, building boats meant to last is more than a means for them to put food on the table, it’s a passion. “We help everybody and it’s just hard when somebody takes it from you,” Bailey said. Bailey and the owner went to the shop the day after Christmas to take care of business when they realized important parts were missing. “We noticed a trailer was stolen over the weekend, which we didn’t know because we weren’t here Christmas Day at all,” Bailey said. He says everything was caught on camera in broad daylight Christmas morning. The company’s security cameras recorded a silver pickup truck backing up to the trailer on the property, and two people jumped out. “You know, it’s like getting kicked in the gut,” Bailey said. “It’s just an eerie feeling.” Less than three minutes later, that same silver truck pulls off with the trailer and two motors. “There’s a bunch of emotions, you get mad,” Bailey said. “But at the same time, what can you do?” Bailey says the two people were dressed in all black and masked, and the truck’s license plate was covered. Bailey and the owner filed a report with the Fort Myers Police Department. They both hope cameras around the neighborhood caught a better glimpse of the truck and can help catch the people responsible. “They knew what they were doing when they got here,” Bailey said. “Hopefully, someone will see the truck and do the right thing and help us get our motors and our trailer back and salvage something from this.”
In true pop-up art fashion, a nearly 7-foot-tall monolith made of gingerbread mysteriously appeared on a San Francisco hilltop on Christmas Day and collapsed the next day. The three-sided tower, held together by icing and decorated with a few gumdrops, delighted the city on Friday when word spread about its existence. During his morning run, Ananda Sharma told KQED-FM he climbed to Corona Heights Park to see the sunrise when he spotted what he thought was a big post. He said he smelled the scent of gingerbread before realizing what it was. “It made me smile. I wonder who did it, and when they put it there,” he said. People trekked to the park throughout the day, even as light rain fell on the ephemeral, edible art object. In one video posted online, someone took a bite of the gingerbread. Phil Ginsburg, head of city’s Recreation and Parks Department, told KQED the site “looks like a great spot to get baked” and confirmed his staff will not remove the monument “until the cookie crumbles.” It did by Saturday morning, a fitting end to what was surely an homage to the discovery and swift disappearance of a shining metal monolith in Utah’s red-rock desert last month. It became a subject of fascination around the world as it evoked the movie “2001: A Space Odyssey” and drew speculation about its otherworldly origins. The still-anonymous creator of the Utah monument did not secure permission to plant the hollow, stainless steel object on public land. A similar metal structure was found and quickly disappeared on a hill in northern Romania. Days later, another monolith was discovered at the pinnacle of a trail in Atascadero, California, but it was later dismantled by a group of young men, city officials said.
Residents who live at Vi at Bentley Village in North Naples received their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine Saturday. Olive Hunter, 88, has been there 10 years. She, fellow residents and employees rolled up their sleeves to be the first to get the COVID-19 vaccine. “It’s amazing. It’s just mind-boggling,” Hunter said. For many, the vaccine is a sign of hope that things could slowly begin to go back to normal. “Well, we certainly hope so, waiting to see what happens when we all get our injection,” Hunter said. Those in Hunter’s age group have been some of the most isolated during the pandemic. Jonathon Albert, a social services manager, received the vaccine. He has personally seen what isolation has done to residents this year. “It’s been difficult,” Albert said. “It’s been a whole different year that we’ve been dealing with, and so there’s a lot of residents dealing with feeling sad.” With Albert working so closely with the residents at the senior community, he too was able to get the vaccine. He says when they found out they could get vaccinated, there wasn’t much hesitation from residents and their families to make it happen. “They said, ‘When? Hurry up, and let’s get it,’” Albert explained. “They’re excited. They want their loved ones to get vaccinated, so again they can see each other.” Randy Richardson, president of Vi at Bentley Village, said the vaccine is serving as a light at the end of the tunnel for those living and working in the community. “It’s been over nine months, and our employees have done a remarkable job managing through this pandemic, and our residents have been terrific too,” Richardson said. “They’ve been patient and worked with us to do everything they can to keep people safe.”
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office partnered with Waste Pro USA this holiday season to help keep community members safe by allowing everyone to dispose of their cardboard recyclables after opening gifts. According to the LCSO Facebook post, empty gift boxes can be safely disposed at district substations instead of being put at the end of driveways. This program is limited to disposal of cardboard recyclables. Substations accepting empty boxes include: South District – 10520 Reynolds Street, Bonita Springs West District – 15650 Pine Ridge Road, Fort Myers Central District – 14750 Six Mile Cypress Parkway, Fort Myers East District – 1301 Homestead Road, Lehigh Acres North District – 121 Pondella Road, North Fort Myers Gulf District – 13921 Waterfront Drive, Pineland The crime prevention recycling program with Waste Pro and LCSO began at 9 a.m. Saturday and will operate at participating substations until 5 a.m. Dec. 31. Anyone with questions about drop-off locations can contact the LCSO community response unit at 239-477-1CRU (278).
As of 2 p.m. Saturday, there have been 1,264,588 positive cases of the coronavirus recorded in the state. The case count includes 1,243,118 Florida residents and 21,470 non-Florida residents. There are 21,135 Florida resident deaths reported, 302 non-resident deaths, and 61,288 hospitalizations at some point during illness, according to the Florida Department of Health. *Numbers are released by the DOH every afternoon. There was no report on Friday, Dec. 25, due to the Christmas holiday, and state-supported testing sites were closed Dec. 24 and 25. Saturday’s numbers reflect a two-day total. STATEWIDE NUMBERS Total number of recorded cases: 1,264,588 (up from 1,247,546) Florida resident deaths: 21,135 (up from 20,995) Non-resident deaths: 302 (up from 300) Total deaths in state (Fla./non-Fla. residents combined): 21,437 (up from 21,295) 17,042 total new cases reported Saturday 140 new resident deaths reported Saturday 2 new non-resident deaths reported Saturday Percent positive for new cases in Fla. residents: 8.00% This percent is the number of people who test PCR- or antigen-positive for the first time divided by all the people tested that day, excluding people who have previously tested positive. SOUTHWEST FLORIDA NUMBERS Total recorded cases in SWFL: 73,923 (up from 73,302) Deaths: 1,317 (up from 1,299) 621 total new cases reported Saturday 18 new deaths reported Saturday Lee County: 38,575 cases (up from 38,288) – 651 deaths (5 new) Collier County: 21,558 (up from 21,428) – 326 deaths (1 new) Charlotte County: 7,000 (up from 6,854) – 228 deaths (11 new) DeSoto County: 2,835 (up from 2,816) – 52 deaths Glades County: 760 (up from 759) – 11 deaths Hendry County: 3,195 (up from 3,157) – 49 deaths (1 new) Click HERE* for a case-by-case breakdown – updated daily. *If not linked, the final report has not yet been made available. TESTING DATA Effective Oct. 27, the Florida Department of Health ceased releasing data showing overall testing numbers. Their statement: “The Florida Department of Health is making adjustments to the COVID-19 dashboard and daily report to provide clear, accurate information for Florida families. Moving forward, the daily report will focus on the number of tests reported to the state by day and the corresponding positivity rate by day. The previously reported cumulative number did not reflect the current status of the pandemic in Florida. This change is in line with the CDC recommendation that calculation of percent positivity [is] applied consistently and with clear communication, will allow public health officials to follow magnitude and trends effectively, and the trends will be useful for local public health decision making.” RESOURCES VACCINES: State of Florida’s COVID-19 vaccine reports NOW HIRING: SWFL companies adding jobs FOOD PANTRIES: Harry Chapin mobile food pantry schedule, week of Dec. 21 REPORT COVID-19 DIAGNOSIS/TEST: International self-reporting system IF YOU FEEL SICK: The Florida Department of Health has 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 *The map is best viewed on a desktop computer. If you don’t see the map above tap HERE for a fullscreen version.