ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Happy Monday, Tampa Bay!
Let's get your day started with the stories you need to know about.
Don't get scammed! 🚫
It's been a weekend full of in-store and online deals to kick off the holiday shopping season, and it's not over yet. Who’s ready to shop? 🙋♂️🙋
According to the National Retail Federation, people plan to spend on average $998 this season when it comes to holiday-related purchases.
And, well, because it’s 2020, a lot of that shopping may be happening online.
Here's how to avoid Grinches and keep your information safe online this year.
Post-holiday travel COVID-19 concerns ✈️🚗
Despite warnings from the CDC, nearly 50 million Americans traveled for the Thanksgiving holiday to see friends and family, according to AAA projections.
A local health expert says it's likely when visiting family people let "their guard down," and the false sense of security could create problems in the weeks to come.
It will take two to three weeks to see the impact of holiday travel and festivities on the spread of the coronavirus.
Florida nears 1 million COVID-19 cases
Since tracking began in March, Florida has reported 992,661 coronavirus cases statewide.
A total of 18,736 people in the state have died from COVID-19 complications, according to the Florida Department of Health's report Sunday.
California and Texas have both surpassed 1 million confirmed COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began, according to Johns Hopkins University of Medicine.
Across the country, more than 13 million coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the United States, the highest recorded number in the world.