Bal Harbour orders visitors from 13 states to quarantine, asks other cities to follow
Bal Harbour Village on Monday ordered visitors from 13 states to self-quarantine for two weeks after they arrive in the village and asked a group of cities in northern Miami-Dade County, including Miami Beach, to consider similar measures to slow the spread of COVID-19.
The village is now requiring visitors to self-quarantine not only after arriving from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Louisiana, as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has ordered, but also from nine other states: California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington.
Those 13 states, village officials said in an emergency order, are “areas of documented substantial community spread” of the novel coronavirus.
All visitors from those states — not only by airplane, as DeSantis mandated, but by car, too — must immediately notify the Bal Harbour Police Department upon their arrival, or notify the head of their condominium association if they live on the east side of Collins Avenue.
Condo associations are then required to provide the information to police.
“Bal Harbour Village is a known preferred location for second residences for persons from outside the State of Florida,” the order says, noting that Florida is experiencing an “increase in individuals fleeing to Florida from states where ‘shelter-in-place’ orders are being implemented, especially from the New York Tri-State Area.”
“Bal Harbour Village is already experiencing an increase in such arrivals not only from the New York Tri-State Area but also from other states with substantial community spread,” the order says.
A warning will be given to violators, after which people could be charged with second-degree misdemeanors punishable by up to 60 days in prison. That’s the same punishment applicable under DeSantis’ order on travel from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
The Village of Key Biscayne also announced Monday it would adopt Bal Harbour’s order.
In Bal Harbour, the mandate applies both to future visitors and retroactively to recent travelers. There are exemptions for airline employees or those performing “military, emergency or health response,” and for people leaving their homes to seek medical treatment.
Bal Harbour officials invited leaders from 10 other communities in North Dade to participate in a conference call about the proposal Monday at noon: Miami Beach, Bay Harbor Islands, Surfside, Key Biscayne, Sunny Isles, Indian Creek, Golden Beach, Aventura, North Bay Village and North Miami Beach.
Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber told the Miami Herald that the city’s administration is reviewing Bal Harbour’s order. As of now, the city will enforce quarantines of visitors from the four states on DeSantis’ order.
“There’s an element of public shaming,” Gelber said. “But frankly, that may be what we need to do right now.”
The same group of coastal municipalities, minus North Miami Beach, similarly coordinated their efforts a week ago to enact “Safer at Home” measures either urging or ordering their residents to stay home, except to perform certain essential activities. A similar order was later adopted countywide in Miami-Dade and Broward County.
In a tweet Sunday, Bal Harbour Mayor Gabriel Groisman said he was working to “double down” on DeSantis’ travel restrictions and require anyone coming to his village from New York, New Jersey, California, Michigan and “other high-risk states” to self-quarantine for 14 days “under penalty of arrest.”
“We’ll encourage other So. Fla. cities to do the same,” Groisman tweeted.
The coastal cities have expressed concern in recent days about the potential for visitors to flood into South Florida, particularly from the Northeast. Last Monday, DeSantis said New York’s stay-at-home order has resulted in a “huge amount” of New Yorkers flying to Florida. In response, he ordered anyone on a flight from the New York, New Jersey or Connecticut area to self-isolate for 14 days upon their arrival in Florida, with the potential for criminal penalties for violators.
Members of the Florida National Guard have been deployed at Miami International Airport and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, collecting information from visitors coming off flights from New York City, including addresses for the residences in which they will be self-isolating.
Gelber said he has asked state officials for that list of arrivals to Miami Beach and expects to receive it this week.
“At this point, we don’t even know where the people at the airport who gave names and addresses are hunkering down,” he said. “At a minimum, we’d call them to see if they need anything.”
Residents are already calling the city to report suspected out-of-state visitors who are not quarantining, Gelber said.
“We’re getting calls already,” he said. “We intend on responding to those calls.”
The city’s police department is developing a policy to handle quarantine calls, but one thing is certain: “They’re gonna treat it like any call to respond,” Gelber said. “Obviously an arrest would be the very last resort.”
Miami Beach and Bal Harbour have raised particular concerns about people traveling from the New York area for the Jewish holiday of Passover, which begins April 8. Dozens of leaders in the Orthodox Jewish community along with medical professionals signed a “warning letter” earlier this month urging people not to travel to Florida for Passover and risk spreading COVID-19.
Gelber said people need to rethink upcoming religious holidays that often involve travel — not just Passover, but also Easter, which falls on April 12.
“We must vigorously discourage EVERYONE from coming down, including family and friends, and explain that their proposed visit to S. Florida will very likely endanger many lives,” he said in an email to residents.
Miami Herald staff writer Martin Vassolo contributed to this report.
This story was originally published March 30, 2020 at 2:08 PM.
