THURSDAY April 2, 2020
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Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC JACKSONVILLE
DailyAT Record STAY HOME
Florida Gov. DeSantis orders residents to limit activites to “essential services.” Mayor Curry orders all nonessential businesses to close by 12:01 a.m. April 3. JACKSONVILLE
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BY MIKE MENDENHALL STAFF WRITER
Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry is ordering all nonessential businesses in Duval County to close and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a statewide stayat-home order. Both executive orders takes effect at 12:01 a.m. April 3. Curry’s “Safer at Home’ order excludes businesses the city deems essential during the coronavirus pandemic, including health care facilities, grocery stores, manufacturing facilities and restaurants offering food for delivery and takeout. The executive Curry orders do not mean a full lockdown. Curry said in a virtual news conference April 1 that in addition to leaving their home for essential needs and services, people still can go outside for recreation while maintaining social distancing guidelines. “While we are confident that citizens will be much safer at home in the coming weeks, I want to make it clear that this executive order does not restrict people’s ability to go outside to take a walk or ride a bike,” Curry said. “This only prevents residents from traveling to businesses deemed nonessential.” Under Curry’s order, city-operated SEE ORDERS, PAGE 8
WHAT’S ESSENTIAL A list of the businesses that can remain open in Duval County after Mayor Curry’s order. Page 8
JACKSONVILLE
Special to the Daily Record
Gov. Ron DeSantis said April 1 he is ordering Florida residents to restrict their activities to “essential services” to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Economist says housing will help Florida recover from shutdown Wells Fargo Senior Economist Mark Vitner said the region’s economy “had really hits its stride” before COVID-19 shutdown.
BY MARK BASCH CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Last week brought two economic reports that shed light on the state of the Jacksonville area economy. One was the monthly report showing continued low unemployment in February, indicating how strong the Northeast Florida economy has been – up until now.
The other more timely report on weekly claims for unemployment insurance showed a Vitner surge in Florida, indicating how everything changed in March. “The one thing you can glean
from the data is that Florida’s economy was growing full throttle prior to when the COVID-19 pandemic intensified,” Wells Fargo Senior Economist Mark Vitner said by email. “Then most activity came to a sudden stop.” The unemployment rate in the Jacksonville metropolitan area SEE VITNER, PAGE 8
THE BAR BULLETIN
Stay informed and stay positive amid pandemic Plus: Message from the JBA president. PAGE 10 OLUME 107, NO. 36 • TWO SECTIONS