Palm Beach follows Miami-Dade on boat ramps and marinas to slow coronavirus spread
Following the lead of Miami-Dade, Palm Beach shut down the county’s boat ramps and marinas Sunday afternoon to discourage dense pack partying and slow the spread of novel coronavirus.
About an hour before Palm Beach made its announcement, Hollywood declared the boat ramp at Holland Park, 801 Johnson St., was “closed to any additional boat traffic, effective immediately” at 12:30 p.m.
A Herald story on Saturday’s scene at Haulover Sandbar — boats tied together in clumps, allowing people to hop from boat to boat — wouldn’t have been a story on a normal March Saturday. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, with elected officials using the weight of law to make such “rafting” illegal to encourage social distancing, the scene prompted Miami-Dade mayor Carlos Gimenez to shut down the county’s marinas and boat ramps.
Palm Beach did the same thing Sunday for the season reason.
“Licensed commercial fishermen who provide food for restaurants and markets, commercial marine operations, and support services are permitted to operate,” Palm Beach said.
