MIAMI OPENS MAY 18, 2020
Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez has signed Miami-Dade County Emergency Order 23-20, allowing for the Monday, May 18, 2020 opening of certain establishments previously deemed as non-essential during the County’s COVID-19 response. The order sets the conditions of opening as set forth in the Handbook referenced in the order.
At this time, Miami-Dade County WILL NOT REOPEN beaches, hotels (except for those serving essential lodgers), hotel pools, apartment and condominium pools, spas, licensed massage establishments, tattoo shops, bars, clubs, gyms, dance studios, bowling alleys, movie theaters and large event venues. And, professional sports facilities may not have fans present.
Emergency Order 23-20 can be viewed here.
Early on in our response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we acted quickly and responsibly, first, by protecting the elderly and medically-compromised residents, next, by restricting dining in restaurants and closing theaters, playhouses and other gathering places, and by imposing social distancing guidelines, then by closing parks and open spaces, and finally, by closing all non-essential retail and commercial establishments. Our Safer at Home protocols became the model for the state, and it is because our residents and business owners cooperated and adhered to these restrictions, that we were able to avoid the worst predictions of the effects of the pandemic on our community, flatten the curve, and now, with criteria established by the federal government showing a downward trend in cases and hospitalizations in Miami-Dade County, we are able to relax some of these restrictions and work toward what will be our New Normal.
The draft guide includes specific industry protocols for Retail, Small Businesses, Personal Grooming Businesses, Arts and Culture, Manufacturing, Office Buildings and Shopping Centers, Warehousing/Trade and Logistics, and Restaurants. It also includes protocols for hotels, motels and other commercial lodging establishments. In addition, it specifies that the following will NOT be opening at this time, but at a future date, when conditions warrant: bars, pubs, night clubs, banquet halls, cocktail lounges, cabarets, and breweries; movie theaters, concert houses, auditoriums, playhouses, bowling alleys, arcades, gymnasiums and fitness studios; pools, hot tubs and fitness centers, gymnasiums, whether of a commercial or non-commercial nature; tattoo shops and massage parlors.
All of the Working Groups’ recommendations have been approved by doctors and medical experts from the Florida Department of Health, Jackson Health System, U-Health, and the infectious disease experts at Florida International University and the University of Miami. Medical experts have been involved every step of the way in this process, which also included input from the Miami-Dade League of Cities.
On April 29, 2020, we allowed for a limited reopening of parks and open spaces. Because we carefully planned and our community followed the established rules, we did not experience an increase in cases and can now consider further openings. As certain non-essential businesses reopen, should we see indicators that the percentage of positive cases is increasing in line with test counts, hospital beds are filling up, or people are not following the established orders, restrictions will go back into place.
The guide, which includes a color-coded system that details when openings can occur, is a fluid document that is based on changing conditions. It will be posted at miamidade.gov/newnormal for residents and business owners to review. We will update the guide regularly based on various indicators outlined in the report. For all other information related to COVID-19, visit miamidade.com/coronavirus.
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