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$295 for a face mask, $70 for hand sanitizer and $38 for soap.

Those are just some of the products behind more than 2,700 contacts the Attorney Generals’s office has had with merchants over price gouging.

“We will not relent in these efforts to protect Floridians from gouging and COVID-19 related scams,” said Attorney General Ashley Moody.

Because of the nature of this emergency, much of the price gouging has been online, but the AG’s office has been able to deactivate more than 130 posts on multiple platforms.

But it’s not only price gouging.

Some employees appear to be panicking.

“He sprayed the Lysol in the air. She I guess sprayed the counter,” said Angelina Simmons.

Simmons contacted us over a $4.59 can of Lysol.

She told us she didn’t buy it, but was charged for it by a clerk of a major chain, who used the can to spray the counter top as she approached.

“It was just weird because the cashier was very nonchalant. There was no explanation. I would just assume that maybe she was like hey we have to charge you for this, but none of that,” said Simmons.

The chain apologized and told the Attorney General’s Office the charge was an error.

They have offered a refund.

We asked the Governor what the incident says about the concern the virus is invoking for those working the front lines.

“Just keep calm, carry on and let’s get through this,” said Governor Ron DeSantis.

Right now the state has 59 active subpoenas out looking for information on price gouging.

And merchants beware.

It can harm your business in more ways than one.

“I don’t think I will be back,” said Simmons.

So far, the Attorney General’s office says more than a $130,000 has been refunded as a result of complaints received by the office.

Governor Ron DeSantis said today Florida will soon be at one Coronavirus test for every one hundred and twenty residents. The state today has more than 18 thousand cases as of this morning, and  as Mike Vasilinda tells us, the number of new cases have been flat over the last few days.

The Department of Economic Opportunity has revamped its website, making it more user friendly and unveiling a way to apply for unemployment benefits from a mobile device, but the agency is still overwhelmed with claims.

The week began with 560,000 unemployment claims filed over a three week period.

One viewer emailed us that they were unable to enter multiple employers for the year on the mobile app.

We asked DEO spokesperson Tiffany Vause about it.

“We are looking into that issue. But that user should just go ahead and fill out the employer that they have. And then once they get uploaded into Connect, it we have more questions, a DEO representative will call them to finish out their claim,” said Vause.

Another viewer told us she was still being asked about whether she had made five attempts at finding a job this week.

“Floridians can just select no and it’s not going to prevent you from getting claims because the Governor has waived that requirement,” said Vause.

The Department said employees on loan from the Department of Revenue are dedicated to verifying the backlog of applications.

The Department told us some COVID-19 checks are being sent, but couldn’t say how many.

At $275 a week for 12 weeks, the benefits are among the lowest in the country.

Florida’s incoming Senate President told us if or when lawmakers come back, benefit levels will be revisited.

“Everything is going to be on the table. I think right now, our top concern is making sure people have what they need,” said Senator Wilton Simpson.

We also asked about retroactive benefits for people who couldn’t apply because of the website crashing.

The Department would say only that everyone will get what the benefits to which they are entitled.

If you are using a mobile device you can go to FloridaJobs.org/COVID-19 to file an unemployment claim.

Governor Ron DeSantis has signed his first round of bills into law since his focus shifted to COVID-19 response.

While the Governor had said he planned to delay any action on legislation unless it could be immediately helpful during the crisis, some of the bills he signed appear to have little relevance.

“If there’s something in that stack of bills that would be effective immediately that would help things that would be different,” said DeSantis.

The Governor has now reauthorized Visit Florida, the state’s tourism marketing agency, which could help the state recover when the crisis subsides.

He also approved $47 million in hurricane preparedness and back to school sales tax holidays, potential economic relief for some struggling Floridians.

But new restrictions on the citizen initiative process signed Wednesday have voter groups crying foul.

“While we’re all focused on keeping our families safe things like this are happening in the Governor’s Office,” said Aliki Moncrief with the Florida Conservation Voters.

Moncrief said COVID-19 already has many petition efforts on hold.

Now they’ll face shorter deadlines and higher signature requirements when they start collecting signatures again.

“It’s not only that they’re not going to help in this crisis, but they’re going to hurt in the long term Floridians’ ability, in the instance of the citizens’ initiative bill, Floridians’ ability to access our democracy,” said Moncrief.

The Governor also approved legal holiday fireworks, changes to the Florida Kidcare program, reauthorized the ABLE program and signed a public records exemption for law enforcement communication infrastructure locations.

Incoming Senate President Wilton Simpson defended the Governor, arguing he has to balance his duties.

“The Governor has to also be the Governor right? He has to, the legislation that we passed will either be signed or vetoed. The budgets that we put into place will be signed or vetoed,” said Simpson.

The Governor has also suggested the mandatory E-Verify bill passed this year could be one of the first signed, but so far he has not received it from the Legislature.

Invoking the words of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt during the dark days of World War II, Florida’s incoming Senate President Wilton Simpson, released a video Thursday morning contrasting the challenges it took to prevail in the 1940’s to what we are facing today.

“There is a lot of fear out there, but there are a lot of people on the front lines, everyday Floridians on the front lines, and all of our doctors and nurses, medical staff, and when you think about the farmers that are out there everyday to bring food, and the truck drivers and retailers and grocery stores, and all the workers who are associated with delivery services, I think this show some appreciate for what we are going through and we are going to be better,” said Simpson.

The video is being pushed out on social media.

Florida’s elections supervisors are asking the Governor for more days of early voting for both the August primary and the November general election

They also want more flexibility on mail in ballots.

Florida law mandates eight days of early voting, but it allows up to 15.

Now, Florida’s election supervisors are asking the Governor for a total of 22 early voting days.

Tammy Jones is the President of the Florida Association of Elections Supervisors.

“It’s gonna be harder to find poll workers and also election day voting locations. So therefore we asked that we can extend our early voting days up to another week of early voting,” said Jones.

The Supervisors also want more flexibility.

“Drop boxes at early voting sites. That’s now state law requires that. So, we’re looking at putting more permanent sites out there that would be manned, at more locations,” said Leon County Elections Supervisor Mark Earley.

The supervisors are also pushing mail in voting as the safest alternative to going to the polls, but caution they don’t have the capacity to run the entire election via mail.

“We encourage people to vote by mail. However, we do feel like Florida is not in a position to mandate all counties to vote by mail,” said Jones.

System capacity is at issue.

“We’re not going to be able to send a vote by mail ballot to everybody. There’s just not enough time to prepare for that. We don’t even have the tabulation machines in place. At least many counties don’t,” said Earley.

Supervisors also want an extra day to respond to mail ballot requests.

Current law says it must be mailed within two business days.

All those extra early voting days do come with a cost.

The supervisors don’t know much yet, but they plan to ask the state to pick up the tab.

And the supervisors want whatever is approved to apply to both August and November, so voters feel a sense of continuity.

Governor Ron DeSantis’ medical roundtable on COVID-19 focused heavily on the drug hydroxychloroquine, which is typically used to treat malaria, arthritis and lupus, but has been touted by the President as a possible treatment for the novel coronavirus.

A million doses of hydroxychloroquine are set to arrive in the state capital Wednesday and will be distributed throughout the state.

Governor Ron DeSantis shared a testimonial from an unnamed COVID-19 patient treated with the drug during his medical roundtable.

“You guys saved my life and you know you did,” the patient said in a prerecorded video.

“This really isn’t like the flu, I mean this is some really serious complications and it can go downhill very fast and so to be able to have a variety of options is very, very important,” said DeSantis.

Doctors joining the Governor agreed hydroxychloroquine is a beneficial tool to have on hand.

“It’s being tested, but we’re not sure whether it will work. Along with that we are using several other therapies,” said Dr. Sunil Kumar, a critical care and pulmonary physician at Broward Health.

The Governor’s hydroxychloroquine-focused roundtable earned him some critical headlines.

One outlet likened him to a pitchman for the medication.

But DeSantis did hammer the point that people should not self medicate with the drug.

“Is this something that someone should just be messing around with on their own?” DeSantis asked Dr. Carlos Campo with Tallahassee Memorial Hospital.

“I would not recommend just starting these as an outpatient because obviously patients cannot be monitored and again, the medications themselves can put the patient at risk,” said Campo.

And Dr. Kumar emphasized more research is needed.

“I think we need to continue with aggressive efforts to do a randomized control trial, which is being done,” said Kumar.

The main side effect of hydroxychloroquine highlighted during the panel was arrhythmia.

In a hospital setting doctors use an EKG to monitor patients being treated with the drug.

There are reports that diverting hydroxychloroquine to COVID-19 patients has made the drug harder to get for patients suffering from lupus and arthritis.

Farmers in Florida are plowing crops under because vegetables cost more to pick than they bring at market, and some fear they may transmit the coronavirus.

Toilet paper is being rationed, if its available at all.

Tuna and other can goods are scarce, but fresh fruits and vegetables are plentiful.

In part, because restaurants have stopped buying, but also because some fear they could transmit COVID-19.

“You know, you look at some bananas, it’s kind of a normal thing. And I think people are probably making some pretty good decisions because those are the kinds of contacts that could potentially make a difference,” said Governor Ron DeSantis.

But Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried argues fruits and vegetables are safe.

“There has been no transmission of COVID-19 from fruits or vegetables or any other type of produce,” said Fried.

Sam Accursio is a farmer in Homestead.

He’s not worried about Florida produce.

“What concerns me about buying food from third world countries is that they do not have the same regulations that we have here in the United States. With the environment, human rights, health concerns,” said Accursio.

Florida has more than 300 speciality crops and feeds most of the nation its fresh fruits and vegetables during the winter and early spring.

Fried said small farmers need the support.

“So we need to make sure that all of the money we are getting, the stimulus dollars, the money for our food banks, the money for our school lunch programs, that as much as that money stays here in Florida nd that they are buying fresh produce,” said Fried.

Under state law, grocery stores have to tell consumers where crops are grown and Fried said now, more than ever is the time to be eating Fresh From Florida.

“An apple a day,” said Fried.

Fried is encouraging people to cook and then freeze vegetables for a healthier alternative.

The Florida Supreme Court has ordered all jury trials in the state suspended until the June, extending a previous order by two months.

The potential for innocent people sitting in jail for an extended period of time has human rights groups and defense attorneys sounding the alarm.

Jury trials have been suspended in Florida due to hurricanes in the past, but Richard Greenberg with the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers said the now three-month delay for COVID-19 is different.

“People sitting in jail are very, very concerned… Every week it seems like the deadlines are being pushed back,” said Greenberg.

Normally, those charged with a misdemeanor have the right to a trial within 90 day and those with felony charges 175, but under the order those rights have been waived.

The concern from groups like the Southern Poverty Law Center… Innocent people could have to spend longer behind bars if they can’t make bail.

“And what I fear is going to happen is we’re going to see more people pleading guilty just to get out of jail. Not because they committed the crime, not because they don’t have a viable defense,” said Sumayya Saleh with the Southern Poverty Law Center.

There are also concerns of overcrowding.

While justice may be on hold, police are still making arrests.

And in the midst of a pandemic, lives could be on the line.

“Jails are one of the most dangerous places for people to be in the midst of a global pandemic. It’s not possible for people to socially distance,” said Saleh.

But Greenberg hopes the state finds other solutions, like non-monetary bond for nonviolent offenders.

“They may be able to get arrested and booked and released. They don’t have to sit in jail because they can’t afford to post bond,” said Greenberg.

So far, the Governor has not expressed support for early inmate release or any executive action that could provide alternatives to monetary bond.

Some court proceedings will still be held in the midst of the crisis like first appearances and bail hearings.

The Supreme Court has encouraged those hearings be conducted remotely.

A circuit Court judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by a Florida attorney that aimed to force the Governor to issue as statewide beach closure.

In the telephonic hearing the Governor’s attorney Nicholas Primrose argued the judge did not have the authority to order the Governor to close the beaches because the Governor’s emergency powers are discretionary.

“The plaintiff in his amended complaint is requesting that this court substitute its judgement for what would be the appropriate policy decision for that of the Governor, which is the textbook definition of the violation of separation of powers,” said Primrose.

The judge agreed, but left open the possibility for the issue to be considered by an appellate court.

The attorney suing the Governor said he intends to follow through with the case despite the ruling.

Filing for unemployment should be easier, but still not flawless as of Monday.

Over the weekend the state made major improvements to the system, adding servers and people, but getting a check could still take some time.

72 new servers were installed to process unemployment claims over the weekend, and more than 200 employees from other agencies trained to answer calls.

“The system can handle up to a hundred and twenty thousand simultaneously connections by individuals filing claims. Recently, we’ve been in the forty to sixty thousand connection range before these servers. That was causing huge stres,” said Governor Ron DeSantis.

More than 60,000 people applied Sunday night when the system went back up.

20,000 applications were received Monday morning.

“From March 15th to April 5th, we received 520,000 cases for reemployment assistance,” said Ken Lawson, Executive Director of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.

But the Department can only process 80,000 claims a week, which means there is already a four or five week backlog to getting a check.

“Everyday, as we increase capacity, we’re seeing greater improvement in the system in our ability to process and pay people,” said Lawson.

Also unclear is whether you can receive benefits from the time you lost a job and couldn’t file because of problems in the system.

“If they have been frustrated from applying, and then finally now, the systems better, then I think that should be something that is taken into consideration. I mean, it’s not like they were just sitting on their hands,” said DeSantis.

The Governor said he’s talking to FedEx.

You may soon be able to go to a FedEx office, fill out the form, and have them deliver it.

There was also a new revelation about the Connect computer system, which has had problems since it went live in 2013.

The backup system was never plugged in.

“Shocked and surprised,” said Lawson.

But it is plugged in now.

Ten more servers are on order, and 500 Department of revenue employees will start verifying applications to try and speed the process.

Violation of the Governor’s statewide safer at home order comes with a second degree misdemeanor charge, but many are having trouble understanding what is and is not allowed.

The Governor has provided some clarity, but Florida Democrats say it’s not enough.

Two seemingly conflicting executive orders issued hours apart called into question whether local governments could enforce tighter restrictions than the statewide safer at home order.

Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried, a Democrat, said it caused major confusion.

“What it’s doing is forcing counties and cities and individuals to self interpret, which is going to make it nearly impossible for law enforcement or any type of enforcement of this order,” said Fried.

Governor Ron DeSantis said his executive order is only a floor.

“Each region in Florida is very distinct and some of these things may need to be approached a little bit differently,” said DeSantis.

But there are some things local governments can’t do, like ban religious services.

“The Constitution doesn’t get suspended here,” said DeSantis.

However they can require religious gatherings to adhere to local social distancing guidelines.

“There’s no reason why you couldn’t do a church service with people ten feet apart,” said DeSantis.

The Governor released a fact sheet Friday night, providing answers to many of the commonly asked questions about the safer at home order.

But Democrats argue despite the clarification offered, the broad 19-page list of essential services offers too many loopholes and should be narrowed.

“Because if we are actually going to beat this virus we’ve got to be in this together and we’ve got to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to stop the spread,” said Fried.

The safer at home order is set to expire April 30th, but it could be extended or amended anytime before then.

To find the list of commonly asked questions offered by the Governor, visit flgov.com.

Hurricane season is now less than two months away, and Jared Moskowitz, the state’s emergency management director, already engaged in fighting COVID-19 is now planning for the possibility of a hurricane while the coronavirus is still a factor.

“We’ve got to have plans that potentially we could have a hurricane and be dealing with evacuations and shelter procedures, still with COVID-19,” said Moskowitz. “So, how do we evacuate? How do I evacuate people that might be COVID-19 positive? What do we do with our hospitals? How do we do a decompression plan there with people who might be in the hospital still with COVID-19? Are we using schools for shelters? How are we doing that? How are we separating populations?”

While planning for the worst, Moskowitz said most models show the coronavirus subsiding by the peak of hurricane season.

Governor Ron DeSantis calls fixing the website for people to apply for unemployment is his number one priority right now and is throwing people, money and old and new technology at the problem.

Since the COVID-19 crisis hit, 396,000 people have filed for unemployment.

Compare that to just under 308,000 claims filed in all of 2019.

The agency also took over two million calls in the last three weeks.

“I think this requires all hands on deck,” said DeSantis.

Up to 200 state employees from other agencies are being reassigned to help answer phones and process claims.

“We are working right now to identify who those people are and we are going to begin training them next week across the state. In addition, he has provide us the ability to take paper applications, so we are going to be posting that later today, so individuals can print the application, fill it out, and mail it back to us,” said Department of Economic Opportunity Communications Director Tiffany Vause.

A new mobile app to help people file for unemployment could be available as early as this weekend or as late as Tuesday.

And the $77 million computerized claim system that has had problems since it was built in 2013 is getting a makeover.

“I think that will take about two weeks for us to get the folks on staff and get them going, but we are working on some interim solutions,” said Vause.

The Governor’s message: Spare no cost.

“I wish I could say this is something that will last just a couple weeks, but I think this is not something that you can just turn on and off an economy like this,” said DeSantis.

And as the claims mount, the Governor has also suspended all evictions and foreclosures for the next 45 days.

Paper applications for download will be available online at Floridajobs.org and CareerSourceFlorida.com by the end of the day Friday.