Palm Beach County Mayor Dave Kerner sent a letter to the governor Thursday asking for permission to begin reopening non-essential businesses.

“We are recommending you consider and grant our county the opportunity to reopen in Phase 1 of your plan in a similar fashion to other counties of the state outside of South Florida,” Kerner wrote, noting that the county’s commissioners have deemed them ready. “We would like to engage in discussions with you regarding the acceleration of this at the earliest possible date.”

As of Thursday, Palm Beach has reported 3,587 cases of COVID-19, with 222 deaths and 577 hospitalizations.

The numbers are fewer than those in Miami-Dade (13,585 cases, 454 deaths, 1,942 hospitalizations) and Broward (5,677 cases,…

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As soon as you strap on your cloth face mask and head out the door, your glasses fog up.

Why Does it Happen?

The science behind why our glasses fog when we wear a mask is fairly simple. As we wear our masks, warm breath escapes from the top of the mask and lands on the cooler lenses of our glasses. When that happens, it creates condensation, or fog. You might've noticed a similar effect when wearing glasses with a scarf or baclava in the winter, or when opening a hot oven door.

How to Stop Your Glasses from Fogging?

There’s a simple fix for fogged glasses, and it'll only take a minute or two. All you need is soap and water.

This advice comes from the medical journal Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, courtesy of two…

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The Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners are holding a special meeting Friday morning. Commissioners will discuss a plan to reopen beaches in Palm Beach County.

They will also consider how to spend $261 million dollars awarded to the county by the federal government as part of the $2 trillion relief package.

"We have many miles of beaches on our eastern coast. It stands all the way from the Broward County line all the way up to Highland Beach," Boca Raton City Councilman Andy Thomson said.

On March 20, Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered all beaches in Palm Beach County to close.

Thomson thinks Boca Raton has to be careful in its approach to allowing people back on beaches.

"Given our proximity to Broward and in particular Dade too,…

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Florida has reported only 37,439 positive coronavirus cases, ranking it eighth in the U.S. for the number of confirmed cases despite being the nation’s third most populated state. 

The case and death numbers point to something many may find surprising: Florida has not become as much of a hot spot as other states such as New York, California, and Michigan.

The state has fewer cases per capita than other heavily impacted states, such as Louisiana. According to Johns Hopkins University, Florida has had a total of 176 cases per 100,000 people compared to Louisiana, which has had 644 per 100,000 people.

Most of the Sunshine State entered its first phase of reopening on Monday, with restaurants, retail stores and museums allowed to operate at no…

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The COVID-19 response in Miami-Dade got two upgrades Wednesday: the opening of a mask decontamination facility at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens and a mobile testing laboratory that can process 500 tests per day from long-term care facilities around the county.

“We believe this will be a game-changer,” said Gov. Ron DeSantis, who toured the facilities Wednesday.

The decontamination facility is made up of four shipping containers that can clean 80,000 N95 respirator masks per day, at no charge to healthcare personnel and hospitals or long-term care facilities. The system uses hydrogen peroxide vapor to clean used masks, which can be cleaned and reused up to 20 times.

According to the Miami Herald, While the decontamination facility is only…

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says he's in "discussions" with local officials to add Palm Beach County to Phase One of the state's reopening plan.

Speaking at a coronavirus testing site at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens on Wednesday, the governor said he hopes Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties will be added to the first phase "soon," but did not give a specific date.

"We'll hopefully be able to go forward soon in southern Florida, and I think that we can look to South Florida to really help lead Florida back," DeSantis said.

Currently, Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties are excluded from all areas of Phase One of the reopening plan, with the exception of elective surgeries.

Phase 1 Florida Reopening

Under the first…

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All of Florida except for Palm Beach, Miami-Dade, and Broward Counties are currently in the early stages of reopening. For the rest of the State, Phase 1 of the coronavirus reopening includes:

  • Restaurants can offer outdoor seating with 6-foot spacing between tables and indoor seating is limited to 25-percent capacity.

  • Retail stores can operate at 25-percent of indoor capacity.

  • Elective surgeries can resume.

  • No changes to closures for bars, nightclubs, gyms, theaters, and personal services like salons and hairdressers.

  • Schools remain distance-learning only.

  • Visits to senior living facilities are still prohibited.

  • Pharmacists in Florida will now be allowed to administer COVID-19 tests.

    • …

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If you are a resident of the Palm Beaches, here are some of the coronavirus numbers that may interest you.

How many cases in Palm Beach County?

The county has 3,390 cases and 205 deaths. The median age is 54.

How many cases in Miami-Dade County?

Miami-Dade has 13,224 cases and 407 deaths.

How many cases in Broward County?

Broward County has 5,492 cases and 215 deaths.

How many cases in the Treasure Coast?

Martin: 218 cases, 6 deaths

St. Lucie: 259 cases, 25 deaths

Indian River: 99, 8 deaths

Phase 1 Reopening

Palm Beach County is hoping to begin opening up under phase 1 of the governor’s plan.

Palm Beach County commissioners said Tuesday they will send a letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis asking him to move forward with…

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Many doctors and dentists closed their offices during the coronavirus lockdown.

Now, as they begin to reopen, it's becoming clear that visiting the doctor's office will come with a whole new set of rules.

As things slowly start to creep toward normality places like dentists offices are figuring out what a new normal is going to look like.

Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, dentist offices have had a tough choice to make;

whether to remain open for emergencies or close completely, to ensure their patients, staff, and families were safe.

Now, dentists around South Florida are beginning to plan for a reopening, with many of them getting back to most of their normal services this week.

But things may look a little different than what…

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Although things are getting better in the Palm Beaches, it is still important to educate yourself on current events and understand the importance of social distancing.

Here are answers to some of the most common social distancing questions for residents of the Plam Beaches:

Is Ordering from Restaurants Bad?

There's no evidence as of yet that the virus can live in food, so whatever you eat should be safe. Ordering takeout and curbside pickup options are still a perfectly fine idea and are actually a good way to help support your local businesses.

Here are some of the best delivery options in the Palm Beaches.

Can I go to the grocery store?

Yes. The grocery store is one of the few public places you can still go -- just be strategic…

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