As of last Friday, Florida reported at least 9,000 new COVID-19 cases. This is a significant increase from the record of nearly 5,000 cases before. With the increase in positive cases, Miami-Dade officials announced that area beaches would close during the July 4 weekend.
“After consulting with our County’s public health experts, I will be signing an emergency order on Saturday to close all beaches in Miami-Dade County starting Friday, July 3, and ending Tuesday, July 7,” Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez said in a statement.
All parks will be closed and group gathering of 50 or more will be banned under the latest order. This is in an effort to cut down on the number of people coming together to watch area firework displays.
The closure and bans may be extended if there is a continued rise in numbers, as well as people not adhering to social distancing and mask-wearing rules.
“I have been seeing too many businesses and people ignoring these lifesaving rules,” Gimenez said. “If people are not going to be responsible and protect themselves and others from this pandemic, then the government is forced to step in and restore common sense to save lives.”
This ban comes after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis banned alcohol consumption in bars across the state.
If people are found to violate the latest measures, they can be fined up to $500 or put in jail for up to 180 days.
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