LONG LINES, WAITS AT COVID-19 TESTING SITES IN FLORIDA 

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – Floridians hoping to get COVID-19 tests waited in long lines, sometimes for hours, on Sunday, the day after many had gathered with friends and relatives for Christmas.

At a drive-through testing site at Barnett Park in Orlando, hundreds of people waited in their cars in the dark before it opened, and it reached capacity by midday.

“We just got back from the plane and everybody was coughing so we really wanted to see if we had COVID,” Yaree Pierre told Orlando television station WFTV.

In Tampa, the West Tampa Neighborhood Service Center had a line wrapped around the building for much of Sunday, as residents waited to get COVID-19 tests, according to Tampa television station WTSP.

Florida hit a new record in the pandemic for the second day in a row over the weekend as the state reported 32,850 daily new cases on Saturday.

Back in Orlando, Aaliyah Reid told WFTV that she came early after exhausting other options and she’d do it again just for the feeling of safety.

“Honestly, I was expecting it because it was packed before Christmas, and I was like this is my last stop,” Reid said. “CVS, Walgreens, all those were booked. Honestly this is the last resort, I’d come here at 3 a.m. if I had to.”

INCREASED DEMAND: MIAMI-DADE EXPANDS HOURS FOR COVID TESTING

MIAMI (AP) – Officials in Miami-Dade County have opened two new coronavirus testing sites and extended hours at Zoo Miami in response to an increased demand.

“We are working around the clock to make sure Miami-Dade residents have access to testing to protect themselves and their loved ones during the holiday season,” Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said in a news release on Tuesday.

She said the county has also distributed 152,000 take home rapid test kits.

“Our residents are doing the right thing by getting tested if they were exposed, have symptoms, or to take extra precautions during the holidays, and that’s why we are doing everything we can to expand access to testing countywide,” the mayor said.

The Zoo Miami site is open for testing 24 hours a day, seven days a week, said Ron Goncalves, General Manager for NOMI Health Florida.

“We don’t have enough words to thank Nomi’s frontline workers who are putting their lives on the line in administering tens of thousands of tests and vaccines daily, working long hours – even during the holidays,” Goncalves said.

Overall, Florida has seen a sharp increase in new COVID-19 cases in the past week.

TESTS POPULAR ONCHRISTMAS AS FLORIDA HITS NEW VIRUS RECORD

MIAMI (AP) – Florida hit a new record in the pandemic for the second day in a row as the state reported 32,850 daily new cases on Saturday.

Only a day earlier, with 31,758 new daily cases reported, Florida broke its previous record of more than 27,000 cases set in August during the height of the delta wave in Florida. The current surge is being driven by the spreading of the highly contagious omicron variant. The swelling number of virus cases created demand for COVID-19 tests, even on Christmas Day when tests were almost as popular as eating a ham or drinking egg-nog-like coquito, for some. Hours before a testing site opening at Tropical Park in Miami, dozens of cars lined up along a road leading to its entrance. The testing site was open from mid-morning to mid-afternoon, and two other sites in Miami-Dade County were open on Christmas Day.

To help alleviate demand, county workers distributed 12,500 at-home COVID test kits Friday at Miami-Dade libraries before the supplies ran out.

BODY OF FLORIDA TEEN FOUND IN

POND BY FAMILY MEMBERS ROYAL PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) – The body of a Florida middle school student was found by family members in a retention pond on Christmas Day, several days after he was reported missing, authorities said.

The body of the 14-year-old boy was found in a retention pond in Royal Palm Beach, Florida on Saturday by family members who had been searching for him between a middle school and recreation center.

There didn’t appear to be any signs of trauma or injury on the boy’s body, according to a news release from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. The boy was last seen on Wednesday around the recreation center. The county’s school district police put out a missing person alert after he didn’t come home.

The body was taken to the medical examiner’s office for further evaluation.

SHARPTON ON WRIGHT VERDICT 

NEW YORK, NY – The Rev. Al Sharpton and National Action Network (NAN) regarding Daunte Wright, fatally shot April 11, 2021 by a police officer at a traffic stop:

“I am guardedly happy about the jury’s verdict in Brooklyn Center convicting former Officer Kim Potter for the killing of Daunte Wright. I’m glad she was held accountable for her actions but guarded because this unarmed young man is dead. I did the eulogy at his funeral and have remained in touch with his parents. We constantly prayed together throughout the trial. Even though the court didn’t further the wound the family is experiencing; it is still a sad Christmas for them because Daunte is not here.”

“Kim Potter swore an oath to protect and serve her community and failed that obligation when she took the life of 20year-old Daunte Wright. Today’s verdict makes a statement to our criminal justice system that we will call out the bad apples and clarifies that there are consequences to everyone’s actions even if you wear that uniform. Daunte Wright was a father, a son, and a brother whose life was taken way too soon. Black and brown men deserve to grow old; they deserve to live their lives. We can no longer sit idly by and allow nonconsequential actions to suffice. The time is always right to do what is right, and today the jury did what is right.”

TEXAS BOARD WITHDRAWS FLOYD PARDON RECOMMENDATION AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – A Texas board that had unanimously supported a posthumous pardon for George Floyd over a 2004 drug arrest in Houston backpedaled in an announcement Thursday, saying “procedural errors” were found in their recommendation months after leaving the decision to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.

In October, the board had unanimously recommended that Floyd become just the second person in Texas since 2010 to receive a posthumous pardon from the governor. The unusual reversal was announced by Abbott’s office two days before Christmas, around the time he typically doles out his annual pardons. The withdrawn endorsement was met with outrage from a public defender who submitted the pardon application for Floyd, who spent much of his life in Houston before his death in 2020 under the knee of a white Minneapolis police officer. Allison Mathis, an attorney in Houston, accused the two-term governor of playing politics ahead of Texas’ March GOP primary elections as he faces challengers from the far right.

Mathis called the last-minute reversal a “ridiculous farce.” She said the board – which is stocked with Abbott appointees – did not make her aware of any issues prior to the announcement from the governor’s office.”It really strains credibility for them to say now that it’s out of compliance, after the board has already voted on it,” she said.

HOMICIDE PROBE OPENED IN DEATH OF MISSING IMAM FOUND IN VAN

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Police in Ohio have confirmed that a body found last week inside a van at the wooded lot of a Columbus business was that of a missing imam, and the case has been classified a homicide.

Columbus police on Sunday identified the deceased as 48-year-old Mohamed Hassan Adam, a longtime imam at Masjid Abu Hurairah mosque on the city’s northeast side. Community members said the imam had been missing since Wednesday.

Police said the investigation is still in the early stages and haven’t released any information on a possible motive. The cause of death wasn’t immediately released. No arrests have been reported.

Shortly after police were called to the scene Friday, scores of people gathered when news of the body’s discovery spread within the Somali community.

“Mohamed Hassan was someone who would feed the homeless. Mohamed Hassan was the one who would monitor our youth to stay away from drugs, to stay away from gun violence,” Imam Horsed Noah, outreach director of the Somali Islamic Centers of Ohio, told the Columbus Dispatch. “He was a great father. He was a great husband. He was a great son to his mother. Today, the Somali community lost a pillar.” Anyone with information was asked to call Columbus police homicide investigators.

MIAMI BEACH WORLD’S PRICIEST

NEW YEAR’S EVE DESTINATION With a nightly rate of $365 for the least expensive room, Miami Beach is the most expensive destination in the world for overnight accommodation this coming New Year’s Eve, according to a survey by CheapHotels.org.

The survey compared hotel rates in 50 major cities globally. For each destination, the price for the cheapest available double room for a three-night stay from Dec. 30 – Jan. 2 was recorded.

Two other US cities, New Orleans and Nashville, followed, with rates of $304 and $284, respectively, for the most affordable room.

Cancun is the priciest non-US city with a rate of $228 per night, ranking it fifth overall. The Scottish capital of Edinburgh ($221) is the most expensive European destination, while Rio de Janeiro ($206) in Brazil came out as the priciest city in Latin America.

The survey results also highlight how the Covid-19 pandemic is still impacting significantly on hotel prices globally. For example, in Dubai and Sydney, both of which were among the most expensive destinations for New Year’s Eve accommodation in 2019, rates are between 4050% lower this year. In Hong Kong, prices are down even more, by up to a startling 70%.

The world’s 10 priciest destinations for New Year’s Eve (Dec. 30 – Jan. 2) accommodation this year:

1. Miami Beach $365

2. New Orleans $304

3. Nashville $284

4. New York City $275

5. Honolulu $264

6. Cancun $228

7. Las Vegas $225

8. Edinburgh $221

9. Rio de Janeiro $206 10.Los Angeles $205

CORONA BACKUP: The line for covid testing yesterday morning at Gaines Park, across from the Urban League headquarters in West Palm Beach, stretched south from 25th Street past the park on Australian Avenue, then west along Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard, before circling to the park’s west entrance. An official said that when testing opened at 9 a.m., a driver stated he had been waiting in line since 2:30 a.m. Officials said they planned to stop the traffic by 1 p.m. Wednesday, to allow for processing by the 5 p.m. closing time of those already in line.