To help with the enormous amount of information coming out on COVID-19, below are some general information and quick links to help you navigate:

EFR Rumor Control

• Reminder that all EFR fire station stations are closed, including for services such as BP checks
• Asking public NOT to drop off any items to stations including food items (sorry, no cookies)
• No bottled water is needed at any of the departments and this is a reminder not to drop off ANY items to stations
• Sharps container program will continue. Residents are instructed to knock on the station front door for assistance with this program.

Lee Physician Group Suspending All Routine Visits and Well-Checks

As we continue to advocate for distancing to prevent against further spread of the disease, Lee Physician Group is suspending all routine visits and well-checks until further notice. The practices are still seeing patients for non-routine visits, cohorting patients by seeing those without respiratory symptoms in the morning, cleaning the office at lunch, and then seeing patients with respiratory symptoms in the afternoon

Blood Drives Planned for this Weekend

The American Red Cross has graciously stepped up to host two mobile blood drives in support of Lee Health. The drives will be held at 7051 Cypress Terrace, Suite 110 in Fort Myers on Saturday, March 21 from 9 a.m.-2 p.m., and Sunday, March 22 from noon-4 p.m. Blood drives are not “mass gatherings,” rather controlled events conducted using appropriate infection control mechanisms intended to assure the safety of the products, donors and staff.  Please share this information with your family, friends and neighbors.

Beach closing

County-owned beaches and the county-owned Fort Myers Beach Pier will close until further notice effective at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 19, in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. This includes beach parking lots, restrooms and county-owned beach access points.

The county will coordinate enforcement with the appropriate enforcement agencies.  The county is also suspending LeeTran beach trolley and tram service effective 6 p.m. Thursday.  For more information, visit www.leegov.com/covid-19 or for the locations of county-owned beaches, visit https://www.leegov.com/parks/beaches.

Lee Clerk of Court In an ongoing effort to safeguard the health of the community, the Lee County Clerk of Courts is limiting public access to all Clerk of Courts customer service counters beginning Thursday, March 19^th.  We will continue to monitor the situation and will re-evaluate public access at our office locations on Friday, April 3^rd.  The Clerk’s Offices in Bonita Springs and Cape Coral are closed effective Friday, March 20 and until further notice– all services are moved to the Downtown Fort Myers Clerks Office locations.  Please continue to check www.LeeClerk.org for the latest updates.

Permits, Trash, etc. – County operations are still functional – trash WILL BE picked up as normal.  Although there are some restrictions, building permits are still being issued and most offices are open with limited staff – residents are encouraged to call for details before going in to determine if some procedures can be done online.

Lee County Domestic Animal Services are functioning as normal and pet adoptions will still take place – appointments are necessary.  Fosters for pets are in great need.  Contact Lee Animal Services for details call 239-533-7387 or visit the website at https://www.leegov.com/animalservices

Schools – All schools are closed until at least April 15^th, virtual online school starts March 30^th.  Low-income families in Comcast service areas who sign up as new customers can receive 60 days of complimentary internet, access to more than 200,000 hot spots nationwide, and an increase in internet speeds. https://www.leeschools.net/student_services/global_lee/low_cost_home_internet

Distance Learning – The School District of Lee County is preparing for distance learning by distributing Chromebooks to certain students. Elementary Schools will sign out Chromebooks to students in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade in need of computer access this week.  Only one Chromebook is available per household.  (Details can be found on School District Facebook Page) 

Students pick up the Chromebook at the school they attend. The schedule is available at https://www.leeschools.net/cms/One.aspx…

Kindergarten through 2nd grade students will pick up Chromebooks next week. The schedule will be posted when available.

Free meals for kids:  Starting Monday, March 23^rd, between 9:00am and 11:00am, breakfast and lunch will be served together in a single bag. The meals are free for anyone under 18 years of age. Each child must be present at the pick-up location to receive a “Grab & Go” bag. It is expected the meals will be eaten at home, and not the schools where they are picked up.  https://www.leeschools.net/parent_portal/covid-19/meal_pick_up_sites

Daycares are open. No daycares are being told to close at this time, so if you get a call to one of their locations, they should be full of humans.

United Way 211 Helpline by dialing 2-1-1 or 239-433-3900 between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.  This is an answer to people who want to know who they can call for non-emergency issues. This helpline is open and manned with many people (a lot of county workers that cannot work their regular jobs are answering phones) ready to answer questions and hopefully get residents help educating them on facts and with their non-emergency needs.  https://www.unitedwaylee.org/

Older Residents and supplies:  There is concern that the older adult population is struggling to buy supplies/food in our county. There are some retailers that are providing special shopping hours to older populations but these are on an individual basis. Call 2-1-1 for the latest information or contact your favorite retailer directly.  For more info, contact elder affairs. Their local number is 239-652-6901 and the two helpful websites are:  https://aaaswfl.org/ ; http://elderaffairs.state.fl.us/

Bar and nightclubs are closed per Governor’s order, however there reports around the county of non compliance.  These establishments can be reported for their non compliance:  Main Page for DBPR with the banner linking to Complaint: http://www.myfloridalicense.com/dbpr/