‘It’s not like flipping a switch’: DeSantis says Palm Beach County will reopen Monday
Starting Monday, restaurants and retailers in Palm Beach County will be able to open for business with restrictions, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced at a press conference in West Palm Beach.
“I think Palm Beach is incredibly important for our state,” he said Friday. “It’s not like flipping a switch ... but we’ll be able to get people back to work.”
Palm Beach County commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to send a letter to DeSantis asking for his blessing to break away from Miami-Dade and Broward counties and start reopening nonessential businesses. On Friday, the county voted to open its beaches on May 18.
The three South Florida counties were originally excluded from the state’s first reopening order, which went into effect Monday. The “phase one” reopening plan allowed restaurants and other nonessential businesses to reopen their doors with new social-distancing rules in place.
Palm Beach has seen more than 3,500 reported cases of COVID-19 and 226 deaths from the disease, a higher rate of death than Broward and slightly lower than Miami-Dade when factoring in population.
“The economy needs help and a way forward that balances public safety along with the emphasis and focus on rebuilding our economy,” Palm Beach County Mayor Dave Kerner said Friday.
Kerner thanked DeSantis for empowering local communities to work toward a plan that works best for them, and said Palm Beach County would lead the way forward for the rest of South Florida to reopen soon.
“Our county leadership will continue to interact with the governor’s office and with our local leaders to ensure there is a consistent way of implementation,” he said.
Lake Worth city commissioner Omari Hardy called the declaration “foolhardy” and said the county is moving too fast. Beaches reopening in his area will draw millions of “stir-crazy” people from Broward and Miami-Dade counties, he said, and he fears a crowded scenario ripe for COVID-19 spread.
Hardy failed to convince the city to pass its own measures, and said because Lake Worth is only protected by the county declaration, the city is “not prepared” to reopen. The county had its highest number of documented cases just last week, he noted, and is not necessarily on a downward trend.
“This is a nightmare scenario for us,” said Hardy, who is running for Democratic Rep. Al Jacquet’s Florida House seat. “I wanted our city to do something to get ahead of the curve. I felt the state was too slow and the county was too slow. And unless we can get something in place before Monday, we’re screwed.”
Rep. Lori Berman, a Lantana Democrat, called the plan “troubling,” pointing out the 482 new cases in the county this week.
“This growing increase shows that Palm Beach County has not yet succeeded in flattening the curve,” she wrote in a statement. “We recognize the need for a return to normal — our economy is struggling. But lives are more important than short term economic gain.”
Brian Wilson, a Jupiter-based minister and superintendent for the Southern Florida District Church of the Nazarene, said the COVID-19 crisis has created a sense of polarization in the community, because people are judgmental over whether actions are right or wrong. He feels it has been difficult to build consensus on what the right balance is between level of health risk and economic urgency, and that “phase one” reopening is a good balance of protecting individuals and stimulating the economy.
“Local municipalities have the right, as I understand it, to be more restrictive than the state and county, but can’t be less restrictive than the state and county,” he said, noting that Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez gave indication that there may be some reopening of retail on May 18 but not the beaches. “I think that’s a good example of local contextualization.”
Wilson, who exercises along A1A in Jupiter almost every day, said there are often a number of other joggers practicing social distancing, showing a level of responsibility he feels makes Palm Beach County residents “ready for the next phase.”
“I think indoor venues, like theaters and churches, where the virus spreads more aggressively, need to exercise extreme caution as they attempt to open. But I think the timing and balance is about right for Palm Beach County,” he said.
Jenni Ma, a 19-year-old retail worker from Boynton Beach, said she felt encouraged by the news and hopes to get back to her job at Marshall’s soon. She was working only part time, and therefore not eligible for unemployment insurance.
However, she is still concerned that the number of cases will go up once people start going out in public.
“The virus will still grow no matter what,” she said. “Nothing much can completely stop the virus unless you are taking care of yourself.”
On Wednesday, DeSantis alluded to South Florida reopening, assuring South Floridians watching at home that together, they will “craft an appropriate way forward” to bring back parts of the economy in South Florida that are so crucial to the state, like tourism and hospitality.
Gimenez on Friday announced that he plans to allow some businesses to reopen May 18.
“We need to get the economy going and do it as safely as possible,” he said at a press conference.
Gimenez did not say which industries would be exempted from his March 19 order that closed what the mayor deemed “non-essential” businesses. He said beaches would remain closed on May 18, as would nightclubs and movie theaters. He said rules for reopening would circulate next week and suggested they would include a plan for reopening restaurants.
This story was originally published May 8, 2020 at 2:09 PM.