MIAMI, Fla. (AP) — Officials are announcing more beaches will be closing again in Florida to avoid further spread of the new coronavirus as they try to tamp down on large gatherings amid a spike in confirmed COVID-19 cases.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a news conference Sunday in Pensacola that interactions among young people are driving the surge in confirmed cases.
Meanwhile authorities in Broward County, home to Fort Lauderdale, and Palm Beach County said they would be closing beaches during the busy Fourth of July weekend following the decision of neighboring Miami-Dade County to close theirs between July 3 and July 7.
The Florida Department of Health reported on Sunday more than 8,500 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 29 deaths. In total, the state now has more than 141,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and more than 3,400 deaths.
