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Winter’s coming, and so are lawmakers

Florida lawmakers return this week to Tallahassee after eight months — but it won’t be until next year that legislators begin to assess the wreckage left by the coronavirus pandemic.

Florida has nearly 900,000 COVID-19 cases and more than 17,000 coronavirus-related deaths, and the damage done by COVID-19 to the state’s economy has blown a hole in the state budget. The financial hit would be worse if not for billions of dollars in federal aid.

Here’s what we know: Legislative leaders have expressed an interest in enacting some sort of liability protections for businesses impacted by the coronavirus.

Biden faces tough choice of whether to back virus lockdowns

Joe Biden faces a decision unlike any other incoming president: whether to back a short-term national lockdown to finally arrest a raging pandemic.

For now, it’s a question the president-elect would prefer to avoid. In the week since he defeated President Donald Trump, Biden has devoted most of his public remarks to encouraging Americans to wear a mask and view the coronavirus as a threat that has no regard for political ideology.

But the debate has been livelier among members of the coronavirus advisory board Biden announced this week. One member, Dr. Michael Osterholm, suggested a four- to six-week lockdown with financial aid for Americans whose livelihoods would be affected. He later walked back his remarks and was rebutted by two other members of the panel who said a widespread lockdown shouldn’t be under consideration.

Long-term care COVID-19 deaths top 7,000

The number of Florida long-term care residents and staff members who have died of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic topped 7,000 on Sunday, while the state saw an overall jump of more than 10,000 cases of the infectious disease.

The 7,002 reported long-term care deaths — the vast majority involving residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities — was a grim reminder of the toll that COVID-19 has taken on seniors and people with underlying health conditions. About 40% of the COVID-19 deaths in Florida during the pandemic have been linked to long-term care facilities, according to state data.

Florida also reported an overall increase of 10,105 COVID-19 cases Sunday, as it and other states face a wave of infections. During the week-long period that ended Sunday, Florida added 41,304 cases and 397 deaths of residents, bringing the overall death toll of residents to 17,518.

Fried calls for halting new toll roads to help with COVID-19 budget crunch

Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried wants the state to put the brakes on a series of news toll road projects as lawmakers face budget shortfalls caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Three Department of Transportation task forces sent a report Thursday to lawmakers about the projects, including recommending a need for more economic and environmental-impact studies before the projects are built from Collier County in Southwest Florida to Jefferson County near the Georgia border.

Fried used the recommendations when she issued a statement late Friday saying the projects, which are projected to require up to $101.7 million a year, will “put an unnecessary strain on the state’s ability to fund urgent priorities” amid the pandemic.