Florida on Thursday ramped up plans to vaccinate seniors for COVID-19 by publishing two emergency rules that require nursing homes and assisted living facilities to allow representatives from the state health department, CVS and Walgreens into the facilities.

The emergency rules from DeSantis’ administration also gave nursing homes and assisted living facilities until the end of Thursday to sign up on state-supported websites to participate in what’s known as the Pharmacy Partnership for Long-term Care  Program.

On April 1, just weeks into the COVID-19 pandemic, 7,773 people in Florida had tested positive for the insidious disease. By July 1, that total was up to 158,997. On Oct. 1, it had leaped to 709,144.

And on Tuesday, Florida reached a milestone that nobody wanted to see: more than 1 million reported cases.

TALLAHASSEE — State unemployment taxes are going up for businesses struggling amid the coronavirus pandemic, as the pace of new jobless claims continues to slow in Florida.

The U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday estimated 20,787 new jobless claims were filed in Florida during the holiday-shortened week that ended Nov.  28. That was an estimated 23 percent reduction in new claims from the prior week.