MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — The mayor of Miami-Dade County is rolling back business reopenings amid a recent spike in the percent positive rate for coronavirus tests and an uptick in hospitalizations.
A new emergency order will close restaurants, except for takeout and delivery services, in the county. It will also shut down ballrooms, banquet halls, party venues, gyms, fitness centers and short-term rentals.
The order will take effect on Wednesday, July 8.
"We want to ensure that our hospitals continue to have the staffing necessary to save lives," Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez wrote in a statement.
At this point, the mayor said he plans to keep open outdoor activities. Pools at condos and hotels will stay open with "strict social distancing and mask rules." Summer camps and child care centers will be allowed to remain open with "strict capacity limits" along with mask and social distancing rules.
"Beaches will be open on Tuesday, July 7, 2020, but, if we see crowding and people not following the public health rules, I will be forced to close the beaches again," Gimenez said.
Office buildings, retail stores and grooming services will be allowed to stay open under the order.
The mayor said the 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. countywide curfew will remain in force with exceptions for essential workers and religious purposes.
"We are still tracking the spike in the number of cases involving 18- to 34-year-olds that began in mid-June, which the County’s medical experts say was caused by a number of factors, including young people going to congested places — indoors and outside — without taking precautions such as wearing masks and practicing social distancing," Gimenez said. "Contributing to the positives in that age group, the doctors have told me, were graduation parties, gatherings at restaurants that turned into packed parties in violation of the rules and street protests where people could not maintain social distancing and where not everyone was wearing facial coverings."
The mayor said he was counting on the county's 2.8 million residents to stop the spread of COVID-19 in order to reopen the economy.
Violations can be reported by calling 305-4-POLICE.
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