More Nursing Home Testing. Gov. Ron DeSantis says the state will more aggressively inspect nursing homes and test patients and staff for the coronavirus. DeSantis said he has ordered the Florida National Guard to create 10 teams to visit long-term care facilities, with a focus on hard-hit Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. They will supplement 30 paramedics who have already been conducting such tests. More.

COVID Vaccine. Surgeon General Scott Rivkees suggested Monday that Floridians may need to practice social distancing until there is a COVID-19 vaccine, which could be many months away. “Until we get a vaccine, which is a while off, this is going to be our new normal, and we need to adapt and protect ourselves,” Rivkees said while answering reporters' questions following Gov. Ron DeSantis' coronavirus briefing. More.

Unemployment Claims. More jobless claims are being processed with the state having ramped up its response after the system was flooded and didn’t work for many people initially, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday. The governor didn’t give specifics but said unemployment claims are starting to be paid out. DeSantis asked state agencies to move employees to help out the Department of Economic Opportunity with claims and made several moves to bolster the technology the agency uses to handle online claims. More.

Relief money mystery. Medical providers are set to receive the first $30 billion from a $100 billion emergency fund created by Congress, but it's still not clear exactly who qualifies for the money. The Trump administration also is still trying to identify the quickest means of calculating and distributing money to frontline workers who need it most. The most recent coronavirus response package authorized a $100 billion emergency fund to providers but the administration has offered few details on how it will distribute the next wave of money. More.

Sunshine Law. Gov. Ron DeSantis’ general counsel called a representative of the Miami Herald’s law firm seeking to quash a public records lawsuit that would force the state to divulge the names of all elder-care facilities that have had a positive test for the coronavirus. More.

Testing help. Members of the Florida National Guard have started on-the-spot testing of residents at nursing homes for the new coronavirus as long-term care facilities in the state have reported scores of cases, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Saturday. Guardsmen have conducted tests of residents and staff at nursing homes in South Florida and UF Health Shands has done other spot-testing at facilities. More.

Florida Seeks to Let SNAP Recipients Use EBT Cards for Online Grocery Shopping. Florida families who rely on state benefits would be able to use their Electronic Benefits Transfer cards to buy groceries online under a pilot project the state is seeking to start. Press release.

New IRS Tool. The IRS released a new "simple tax return" tool Friday that can be filled out online, geared toward low-income people and others who aren't required to file tax returns. This will help SSDI, SSI, and VA beneficiaries. More.

$1200 Checks on the Way for Some. The Internal Revenue Service said Friday that some stimulus payments will start going out next week, starting with people who have filed tax returns for 2018 or 2019 and authorized direct deposit. More.