Your Sunday Updates: 10 have died of COVID-19 in Florida prisons; Floridians take hesitant steps back to public life; masks for ‘Tiger King’ fans

The state of Florida has reported two COVID-19 deaths at Sumter Correctional Institution in Bushnell. Photos: FDOC
Big Cat Rescue founder now selling coronavirus masks
The Associated Press
CITRUS PARK — Are you a cool cats or kitten? There’s now a coronavirus mask out there for you.
The Tampa Bay Times reports that Big Cat Rescue founder Carole Baskin, prominently featured in Netflix’s “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness,” started selling face masks with her oft-quoted catchphrase Saturday.
The dual-layered tie masks feature the words “Hey all you cool cats and kittens” above a whiskered feline smile. Viewers of the popular docu-series know that’s Baskin’s catchphrase.
Masks cost $11 each and come in black or leopard print. The masks are being sold to raise money to help big cats. Portions of the proceeds also support first-responders.
Big Cat Rescue and its founder have been the subject of much attention since being featured on TV in “Tiger King.”
Floridians take first, hesitant, steps back to public life
10 Florida prison inmates have died of COVID-19
Joe Byrnes, WMFE
The number of reported prison deaths in Florida from COVID-19 rose to 10 last week.
The state has not yet disclosed where the 10th inmate was held.
But seven were at Blackwater River Correctional Facility, a private prison in Milton, and two were at Sumter Correctional Institution in Bushnell.
Those prisons — along with Tomoka CI in Daytona Beach — were among the first Florida prisons to have outbreaks in April.
Now, at least 11 prisons have reported multiple cases. One thousand sixty-four inmates and 235 staff members have tested positive for the coronavirus.
Get The 90.7 WMFE Newsletter
Your trusted news source for the latest Central Florida news, updates on special programs and more.
GET THE LATEST

WMFE Journalistic Ethics Code | Public Media Code of Integrity