Hialeah imposes curfew
Hialeah became the latest South Florida city to impose a coronavirus curfew, ordering its citizens to stay home starting Monday night between the hours of 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.
“The numbers keep getting bigger,” Mayor Carlos Hernandez said in a Facebook post. “Do everything possible to slow down the spread of the coronavirus. Please make sure you’re not in the streets after 11 p.m. Let’s keep working together, let’s keep doing what we need to do to slow the spread of coronavirus.”
Hialeah, the sixth-largest city in Florida with a population of about 240,000, announced the restriction Monday as part of efforts to stem the tide and “flatten the curve” of the coronavirus pandemic. As of Monday morning, Florida’s confirmed COVID-19 case count had increased to 5,472 with 63 deaths. Miami-Dade County had 1,632 positive tests and Broward’s total rose to 1,152.
Hialeah joins a growing network of about a dozen Miami-Dade municipalities that are forcing people to remain indoors at night.
All curfews include exceptions for work and seeking medical attention. Last Wednesday, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez said he did not see a need for a countywide curfew, and that enforcing one would be a needless burden on county police. Gimenez has signed an order urging people to stay home and has capped public gatherings at 10 people, with some exceptions.
This story was originally published March 30, 2020 at 3:38 PM.
