Key West orders people to wear masks while shopping in response to coronavirus threat
Starting Tuesday, Key West has ordered stores to limit the number of shoppers, make sure they are wearing masks, and provide hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes to customers.
The restrictions include businesses limiting the number of customers shopping at one time to 50 percent of the building’s capacity. And since hand sanitizer is scarce these days, the order includes the phrase “subject to availability.”
The city’s latest order, announced two days after Key West recorded its second death from the novel coronavirus, also says stores must also make sure customers and employees stay six feet apart at all times, and that all stores with more than 10 people inside make sure everyone is wearing a mask.
Key West’s mayor went further when it comes to masks in her most recent statement, although the order covers shopping and businesses.
“We want you to cover your nose and mouth when you’re out in public,” said Mayor Teri Johnston, in a video speech posted Monday on Facebook.
The city is also ordering anyone diagnosed with COVID-19 to “separate themselves” from all people who are not infected to try to stop the spread of the deadly disease.
Johnston said the additional restrictions are based on city leaders’ predictions of the days ahead.
“We’re getting ready to head into two or three of the most difficult weeks that we will ever face as a community,” Johnston said in a video statement.
The new rules mirror what Miami Beach has put into place. On Friday, Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber announced an emergency measure ordering customers and employees to wear face masks at grocery stores, restaurants and pharmacies at the risk of being turned away from the businesses.
The order officially took effect Tuesday morning.
Key West, the most populous city in the Florida Keys with about 25,000 year-round residents, has once again handed down tougher restrictions than Monroe County government.
“Ideally, we are already doing the right thing with social distancing,” said City Manager Greg Veliz. “This is one more step to ensure that we slow or stop the spread of this disease so we can quickly get on the road to recovery.”
Key West had 24 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of Monday night and Key Largo had seven reported cases.
Monroe County will implement similar restrictions, said County Mayor Heather Carruthers in a Facebook Live post Tuesday.
“We’re finalizing that today,” Carruthers said.
Key West rules
In Key West, essential businesses that must comply with limiting the number of shoppers inside at one time include grocery stores, pharmacies, restaurants, food distribution points and hardware stores, said city spokeswoman Alyson Crean.
The order requires stores “to reduce their maximum occupancy load by 50 percent,” Crean said. “Businesses that have multiple entrances and exits shall establish a protocol of entrance and exit points only.”
Acceptable masks, the city said, include homemade ones and coverings such as a scarf or bandanna.
“A cloth mask, a paper mask, a paper towel mask,” Johnston said as examples. “But we ask that you please leave items like the N95 masks to healthcare professionals. We don’t want them to run short.”
Employers are strongly urged to have policies for employees to use other protective equipment like gloves, Crean said.
Grocery stores must do away with salad bars and other self-serve food stations under the order.
Essential businesses must also delegate to employees to disinfect carts, shopping baskets, payment machines and other areas as frequently as possible, Crean said.
Miami Herald staff writer David Goodhue contributed to this report.
This story was originally published April 7, 2020 at 7:51 AM.
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