Coronavirus Florida

Get a shot, or find another job. That was the coronavirus vaccine mandate from the Orange County Tax Collector's Office one month ago. We're now getting a look at why some employees called it quits.

All week, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has been doubling and tripling down on his stance against mask mandates in schools. He said those districts that implement such mandates will be punished.

The number of COVID cases keeps rising in Central Florida. FOX 35's Ray Villeda set out to get a better idea of what it's like inside the hospitals as staff deal with the surge. Since access to many of those hospitals is limited right now, he heard from health care providers who are trying to keep Floridians alive during the pandemic.

The White House COVID Response Team meets on Wednesday to discuss the rollout of coronavirus booster shots. It is expected that all Americans will be eligible for the shot eight months after receiving their last vaccine.

Two groups are teaming up to encourage the Hispanic community to get the COVID vaccine. Many people in that community remain hesitant about getting the shot, health officials say.

Some parents are concerned about bullying and mask shaming that their children might face at school should they choose to wear, or not wear, a mask.

It has been one week since AdventHealth reported it was elevating its COVID response status from red to black. The designation means elective surgeries have been put on hold as the hospital system is seeing the highest number of coronavirus patients since the start of the pandemic.

Because the coronavirus testing site at Barnett Park has been so busy lately, Orange County has opened a second location at the Econ Soccer Complex.

The Seminole County School District expects to have more than 90 percent of its students back to in-person learning. That means more students will be on buses.

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings outlined the county's next steps as COVID-19 cases continue to rise. This comes after new guidelines by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that say vaccinated people should wear a mask indoors in public if they’re in areas with high COVID transmission.

Coronavirus cases are surging in Central Florida. AdventHealth says that they currently have over 700 patients in their facilities across the region. During the peak back in January of 2021, there were 900 patients. Nursing homes are also bracing for impact during this summer spike. According to AARP, the COVID-19 vaccination rate among nursing home workersin Florida is the second-lowest in the country. The organization says less than 42 percent of nursing home staff in Florida had been fully vaccinated compared to the national average of about 56 percent.

With just weeks to go before children return to school, a debate is brewing on how that should look. The American Academy of Pediatrics says all students older than two and all school staff should wear masks. There's an uptick in cases in virtually all the states in the United States, and for that reason, they want to go the extra mile to make sure that children are protected. This runs counter to the latest guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Coronavirus cases are spiking in Florida. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday that Florida now accounts for one out of every five new U.S. cases. At least one Seminole County physician said additional COVID-19 boosters will be needed to extend immunity.

COVID-19 cases in Central Florida are once again on the rise and test sites are now screening for more variants.

Orange County health officials are reporting an increase the delta variant of the coronavirus. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has predicted that the delta variant, which originated in India, has likely already surpassed its U.K. counterpart as the most common strain in America.