From the Newsroom: Santa Rosa Press Gazette

Tonya Ethridge McKinley was 23 years old and had an 18-month-old son waiting for her at home when she was killed in the early-morning hours of Jan. 1, 1985, in Pensacola.She was last seen alive around 1:30 a.m. at Darryl’s Bar & Grille in Pensacola, and in the early-morning hours of New Year’s Day her body was found in an empty lot at the corner of Peacock Drive and Creighton Road, just one block off Scenic Highway. She was half-nude, strangled to death and sexually assaulted.

As of Wednesday March 18, 2020 total number of Florida residents with the virus is 289, Non florida residents test and isolated in Florida is 25 bring the total Florida number to 314.

7 people in Florida have died from the disease

Governor Ron DeSantis March 18 made several announcements to keep Florida’s students, instructional staff and faculty safe. He announced that all remaining assessments for school readiness and voluntary prekindergarten and all testing requirements for K-12 will be cancelled for the 2019-2020 school year.

Private labs have now diagnosed 43 of the state’s coronavirus cases, an indication that testing is ramping up.

The Florida Department of Health has announced 30 new positive cases of coronavirus. Many of the new cases are in Broward County where the Florida National Guard has called up all of it's medical professionals to form Task Force - Medical to help with the virus there.Ages of people infected with the virus range from 19 to 84. The total number of deaths so far is 4.The total number of positive cases as reported by FDOH is 136. No new cases in Northwest Florida have been reported as of Monday, March 16, 2020.

I'm Nick Tomecek in the Newsroom. This is your Sunday March 15, 2020 coronavirus update.

Florida Department of Health confirmed 39 new coronavirus cases in the state, increasing the number of cases to 106. Four Florida residents have died from COVID-19.

Many of the newest cases involved residents in Broward counties. In Southwest Florida, there are two new reports in Collier County and one in Lee County.

The Florida Department of Health said Saturday that the fourth death from Covid-19 was a person who previously tested positive for coronavirus in Lee County. The person was 77. According to the Florida Department of Health, this was not a travel-related case.

Also Saturday, Florida announced Saturday that it has asked the federal government for permission to continue serving free and reduced-cost breakfasts and lunches to 2 million low-income children while schools are closed because of the new coronavirus.

The Florida Department of Health has confirmed 25 new individuals have tested positive for COVID-19 in Florida. All are being cared for and isolated. One Orange County resident tested positive for COVID-19 while traveling and has died in California. No new cases have been reported in Northwest Florida.

The USS Alabama is an ideal museum to visit.The 80-year-old ship has interactive exhibits, stunning open views of the water and of course is a giant World War II battleship that can be explored.It is located on the Mobile Bay about a two-hour drive west of the Fort Walton Beach area. It can be seen as you drive on Interstate 10 toward Mobile.Visitors are greeted by static aircraft displays at the entrance to the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park.The ship is hard to miss and is securely moored so visitors should not worry about floating away on their tour. A gift shop to purchase souvenirs and tickets is adjacent to the vessel.Some lucky guests can stay overnight, sleeping on the actual bunks used by World War II sailors.The Overnight Adventure is open to Boy Scout troops, Girl Scout troops and church groups.The history of the battleship is as remarkable as its presence on the bay.

On Aug. 22, 2019, employees of the Walmart on Pensacola Boulevard spotted a dog in distress inside of a car in the store’s parking lot. The dog was showing signs of overheating.The employees immediately opened the car's doors, but by that point, the dog stopped breathing and died.Investigators later determined the canine had an internal temperature exceeding 109.9 degrees at the time of death and succumbed to heatstroke.

Locally an Okaloosa woman is said to be improving after having contracted the virus. The number of confirmed cases in Florida is at 26 with the number of deaths remaining at 2. No new cases have been confirmed in the panhandle as of Thursday morning.Local school districts are monitoring the spread of the virus as most are headed into spring break beginning today through next week. Districts are warning students who travel outside of the country during the break to quarantine themselves for 14 days upon their return.