In Key West, a lack of cruise ships due to coronavirus causes worry about paychecks
The Florida Keys have no reported cases of COVID-19. But the region is feeling the impact of the pandemic through school closures, canceled social events and empty grocery store shelves.
Now, Key West is bracing for an economic blow after major cruise lines have suspended operations for the next 30 days. The Southernmost Key is a popular stop on many cruise itineraries.
“We had record numbers of arrivals scheduled,” said Scott Atwell, executive vice president and CEO of the Key West Chamber of Commerce.
City records say 101,250 cruise ship passengers were in Key West in February alone, as ships docked at the island’s three cruise ship moorings.
Since October, 459,917 passengers have visited this island packed with bartenders, food servers, watersports boat captains, housekeepers and front desk clerks who rely on tourist dollars.
“I’m worried for the people whose living depends on those passengers,” Atwell said. “It’s going to be a little bit of time to sort out how big of an impact it is. One [chamber] member says 30 percent of his business depends on cruise ships.”
Atwell believes drive-down traffic will continue, though.
“There’s absolutely an economic blow to the community, no questions,” Atwell said. “This is going to give us a baseline of what life is like in Key West without cruise ships. Then we will have data that will tell us just how large of an economic impact it is. We’ve had it anecdotally.”
Among those directly affected is Jamie Snediker, who owns the tattoo shop Southernmost Tattoo, at 712 A Duval St. and the Gulfstream party fishing boat.
“I’ll worry about paying my rent,” she said.
“I’ve had a ton of cancellations for fishing, mostly people that have pre-booked through the middle of April through TripAdvisor or Expedia where they plan their whole vacation,” Snediker said.
As for coronavirus infections, it’s a matter of when and not if, said Bob Eadie, administrator and health officer for the Florida Department of Health in Monroe County since 2007.
“Yes we have been testing individuals here and it’s not a great number,” Eadie said. “Testing is ongoing and all of those tests have come back negative so far. There are tests that are pending, but that’s been an ongoing practice.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis has ordered that all public schools will close for two weeks starting Monday, a move called “extreme” by the Monroe County School District Superintendent Mark Porter.
Students already were scheduled to go on spring break Monday but now that will be extended.
Social events have been canceled and even churches are closing to the public.
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 401 Duval St., announced it will close its doors to events and services until March 31. The gardens, however, will remain open for prayer and meditation.
Mayor Teri Johnston has called for a special city commission meeting on coronavirus, set for 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 18 at City Hall, 1300 White St. The meeting will be televised on public access channels and live-streamed on the city’s website.
“It’s a little bit late but let’s not criticize,” said Jim Gilleran, a Duval Street bar owner. He and some other city leaders have formed One Clean Island, which he calls a proactive communication tool for locals amid the pandemic.
The group met Saturday. Johnston, Atwell and City Commissioner Clayton Lopez were among attendees.
Gilleran declined to react to the cruise cancellations, focusing instead of matters within local control. “What do we have in place? What assets do we have? It costs nothing to wipe down your counter but are you actually doing it?”
This story was originally published March 14, 2020 at 2:53 PM.
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