With holidays on the horizon, experts worry that thousands more will die if people do not take necessary precautions. The CDC warns that a rise in coronavirus cases will soon lead to 19,000 hospitalized Americans every month.
President-elect Joe Biden will face an unprecedented health crisis as he takes office. Biden has already been receiving Covid-19 briefings on the state of the pandemic.
“We are going into a very dark winter,” said Biden Monday in his first policy speech since winning the presidency. “Things are going to get a lot tougher before they get easier.”
As classes gradually return to face-to-face instructions, school districts in Florida are beginning to see a rise in coronavirus cases among the students and staff. The Lee County school district will start rapid testing as early as Wednesday. Miami-Dade County is seeking advice from medical experts to determine if schools need to close again.
With the number of cases growing, the need for a vaccine has also increased. Two corporations have been testing a vaccine that could be the solution to the virus and save millions of lives.
Volunteer group works toward cleaning Tampa’s Hillsborough River
A volunteer group has taken the initiative to keep the community clean as the Tampa Riverwalk continues to be littered with trash.
Jay Magner, the founder of Jay’s Green Team, brought together a group of volunteers whose goal is to raise awareness and take action against the rising amount of trash in Tampa’s waterfront.
“All of the trash that we find in our bay’s waters come from all of the garbage that litters out streets,” said Magner. “There’s no filter in the storm drain system so it goes directly into our bay waters.”
Tampa is the 10th worst city in the country when it comes to the number of companies violating the Clean Water Act. Plastic makes up almost 90 percent of the trash in the ocean. It can take up to 1,000 years for a single piece of plastic to fully decompose. The waste will continue to pile up unless people like Magner do something about it.
Jay’s Green Team is always looking for more volunteers. They clean every Saturday near Tampa General Hospital at 1 p.m. Anyone wanting to assist can just show up.
COVID-friendly ice skating rink opening Friday in downtown Tampa
After months of quarantining and isolation due to the coronavirus, people do what they can to take their minds off the pandemic.
The Winter Village in downtown Tampa will offer COVID-safe holiday activities for all to participate in. The Winter Village will reopen this Friday and will remain open until Jan. 3.
The main attraction at this year’s event will be an outdoor ice-skating rink. The rink is under construction outside of Curtis Hixon Park and will be ready for opening night. Other attractions will include gift shops and a train for the children to ride.
For the visitors’ safety, the rink’s capacity is limited, and skaters must wear face coverings at all times. To reserve a skating time, visit the website and purchase tickets.
Credits
Anchors: Caylee Cottrell, Dylan Zuccarello
Reporters: Zack Brown
Producer: Payton Kirol
Writers: Payton Kirol, Carla Ibanez, Gabriel Castro
Graphics editor: Nick Cousineau
Video Editors: Payton Kirol, Carla Ibanez, Gabe Castro
Show Editors: David Jones
Associate Producer: Carla Ibanez
Web Editor/Social Media Producer: Austin Federau
Graduate Assistant: Emmanuel Maduneme
Faculty Adviser: Jeanette Abrahamsen, Wayne Garcia
