In all, about 40 percent of the approximately 2,280 inmates at the facility near Lake City are known to have been infected with COVID-19.

Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran on Monday ordered public schools to reopen in August and offer “the full panoply of services” to students and families.

The initiative was one of DeSantis’ top priorities during this year’s legislative session, which ended in March.

Florida universities have been working on plans to reopen campuses after the coronavirus pandemic emptied out campuses in March. 

Four inmates and 37 employees at 17 prisons and three probation offices throughout the state have tested positive for COVID-19 as of Tuesday afternoon, according to the Florida Department of Corrections.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday took far-reaching actions to combat the coronavirus as he ordered bars and nightclubs to close for the next month and as state universities moved to hold online classes for the rest of the spring.

Supervisors of elections are stocking voting precincts with extra soap, hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes.

The coronavirus briefly disrupted business as usual at the Florida House today.

An ambitious university-consolidation plan that folds Florida’s youngest and smallest colleges into the University of Florida was backed by a key House committee on Tuesday, following testy exchanges between state lawmakers and emotional testimony from students.

State lawmakers this week kicked off the 2020 legislative session with an action-packed schedule that featured speeches from Republican leaders, early tension over high-profile issues and a key Florida Supreme Court ruling.