It appears Highlands County has hit another plateau. The number of positive cases of the Corona virus locally remains at 81 for the third straight day. There also are no new hospitalizations to report. Some 28 people have been hospitalized at some point during their illness here.
Seven deaths have been attached to the Corona virus in the county. Florida Department of Health officials say anyone who dies with the virus is listed as a fatality of the virus. Of the 1,127 tests conducted here so far, 1,036 have come back negative.
As the state opens slowly under new orders from Florida Governor Ron Desantis – Highlands will open even more slowly. A request for a special meeting to see what county commissioners might do in terms of opening parks and other facilities apparently has gone unanswered.
It now looks like commissioners will wait until their regular meeting next Tuesday to discuss any such issues. The orders from Desantis, which were released yesterday, do not take effect until Monday.
The Avon Park city council still is trying to sell the Brickel Building. The matter came up again at their meeting this week, Apparently there still is mold inside the structure, despite efforts to have the inside stripped.
Apparently, there still is interest in the downtown building with investors calling or emailing for details, The Brickel at one time had been pushed as a site for low income housing. City officials asked staff to continue to work on clean-up, and to place a “For Sale” sign on it.