Reopening rules in Miami-Dade: Wear masks, and test all employees if one gets COVID-19

Anyone going back to work on Monday needs to wear a face covering, and businesses must test all staff and hire deep cleaners if an employee tests positive for COVID-19.

Those are two of the most sweeping decrees in an order released Friday night by Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez outlining the rules that will be in place once businesses are allowed to reopen Monday.

Both requirements were included in the 175-page draft guideline Gimenez released earlier in the week. The rules were released ahead of Monday’s lifting of emergency closure orders he issued in March that shuttered all but businesses deemed essential.

The order issued Friday night states that at 12:01 a.m. Monday, all businesses can reopen except for a list that includes hotels, bars, pubs, nightclubs, gyms, movie theaters and massage parlors.

The draft “New Normal” guidebook released Wednesday laid out the most likely set of rules businesses would have to follow Monday.

They became law once Gimenez signed the order during the county’s eight weeks in a state of emergency. County commissioners must approve the decrees at their regular meetings, and the board convenes again Tuesday. The guide is now called the “New Normal” handbook in the order.

Gimenez’s order states anyone in a business allowed to open, visitor or worker must wear face coverings. The order notes the requirement applies to airports, too, meaning all passengers at Miami International Airport must wear face coverings. There are exceptions for strenuous activity, people with breathing issues, and children under the age of two.

The order also requires businesses to close if one employee or on-site contractor tests positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus. The closure is required for as long as it takes to deep clean the business and test all employees, according to the order.

If that’s not possible, the business must remain closed for 14 days. The order states that the cleaning and testing may be limited to the floor or structure where the infected employee worked.

There are no requirements for employers to test employees on a regular basis, only recommendations of testing programs for “high-risk” workers.

The reopening rules coincide with Florida easing many of the statewide restrictions imposed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. That includes lifting a ban on commercial gyms operating, but that restriction will remain Monday in Broward and Miami-Dade counties.

“The problem with gyms is there are multiple touch points and multiple people,” Gimenez told reporters Friday. “It’s very difficult to control that.”

This story was originally published May 16, 2020 at 6:00 AM.