Miami-Dade COVID numbers worsen. Mayor: People ‘too comfortable’ ignoring mask rules

A month into his reopening plan for Miami-Dade’s economy, Mayor Carlos Gimenez on Wednesday cited worsening COVID-19 statistics and warned of “some people getting a little too comfortable about not wearing masks.”

In an afternoon video message, Gimenez warned that Miami-Dade would start closing businesses if they didn’t enforce emergency coronavirus rules requiring customers to wear masks.

He also speculated that two weeks of outdoor demonstrations against racial injustice were likely contributing to the rising infection rate in Florida’s largest county.

The comments come as his administration continues to expand the number of businesses able to operate under new coronavirus restrictions, including reopening plans approved in recent days for local strip clubs.

“We expected to see an increase as we started to open up the economy, and we had more testing going on. However, we were not counting on protests the last three weeks, which likely have contributed somewhat to the uptick” in Miami-Dade’s coronavirus statistics, he said.

The last five days saw reversals in positive trends for the COVID-19 statistics Gimenez cited four weeks ago when he began undoing most of the coronavirus closures he had imposed by emergency order in March. Hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients increased the last five days, accelerating a gradual uptick through June.

A larger portion of coronavirus test results are also coming back positive across the county. Miami-Dade’s target is to keep the two-week average for positive results below 10 percent. Since Saturday, only one day has seen test results fall below that mark. Even so, the 14-day average remains below 6 percent.

On Wednesday, Gimenez said he did not have plans to roll back recent orders allowing businesses to reopen, including entertainment venues and theaters with approved county COVID-19 plans.

The Gimenez video message mostly tracked what he told reporters during a press conference Monday on the heels of mayors from Miami and Miami Beach drawing attention to worsening coronavirus statistics. Then, Gimenez said protests were concerning but that infection risks were lowered by widespread mask use and by research showing COVID-19 is less likely to spread outdoors.

On Wednesday, Gimenez said he doubted protesters would wind up in the hospital but that older family members may. “I worry about their parents and grandparents,” he said.

The bulk of Gimenez’s message was directed at the need to follow existing county emergency rules on social distancing and face coverings. “We’re seeing some people getting a little too comfortable about not wearing masks when they visit stores and restaurants,” he said. He said businesses caught violating emergency COVID-19 rules would be shut down, and that “our education campaign is now over.”

This story was originally published June 17, 2020 at 7:40 PM.