Task forces formed to discuss easing coronavirus restrictions in Florida Keys
Monroe County and Florida Keys municipalities formed six task forces made up of different economic interests to provide input on how the island chain should phase in relaxing restrictions put in place last month to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The first task force, “outdoor recreation,” met Monday afternoon on a Zoom conference call, said Kristen Livengood, spokeswoman for the county. It was not immediately clear what was discussed because the meeting was not public, nor are any of the others expected to be, Livengood said.
“The task forces serve a fact-finding function. Since they will not be making recommendations at this point, their meetings will not be open to the public,” she said in an email Monday night. “This process could change moving forward.”
Earlier in the day, the city of Key West announced that it has opened its beaches and parks to residents after six weeks of being closed.
The other task forces will look into easing restrictions on non-essential businesses, restaurants, bars, entertainment venues and hotels and vacation rentals, according to a county press release.
“The task force to address restaurant and bar restrictions has been divided into two separate groups based on whether their revenue is derived mostly from food or alcohol,” the release states.
Meetings for those groups have not been scheduled, Livengood said.
Neither the announcement on the task forces nor the reopened beaches and parks in Key West have any immediate impact on the two checkpoints erected March 27 on the 18 Mile Stretch of U.S. 1 and on County Road 905 to stop tourists from entering the Keys.
The county issued another press release earlier Monday emphasizing the checkpoints will remain in place until further notice.
“Motorists who cannot prove they live or own property in the Florida Keys, or cannot prove they are performing essential work in the Florida Keys should not attempt to come through the checkpoints,” the release states.
The county is clarifying some issues with the checkpoints, officials say. Some people own properties in the Keys through limited liability companies and have been turned away at the checkpoints because their driver’s licenses don’t match up with the addresses on the deeds.
This has angered many people who pay property taxes in the Keys, but cannot check on their homes.
However, it’s still unclear how those issues would be resolved.
“We are working on a few orders pertaining to single-owner LLCs and real estate transactions, but they are not ready yet,” Monroe County Mayor Heather Carruthers said Monday afternoon.
This story was originally published April 27, 2020 at 7:25 PM.
