What’s new at the Youth Fair? Wipes, soap and do-it-yourself coronavirus cleaning
The Miami-Dade Youth Fair, opening later this month as concerns over the coronavirus increase, is taking steps to keep workers and visitors germ-free.
It starts with do-it-yourself swabbing.
The fair plans to add Lysol wipes at the entrance of all 99 rides on the Midway. That means if you want to sanitize the safety bars of all those rides before you start spinning, have at it.
“A rider can grab a wipe, wipe down the handrail, wipe down any restraints they’re using on the ride so any touch point they have on the ride, they themselves have already sanitized it much like a cart at the grocery store,” said Fair President and CEO Eddie Cora.
The fair also is adding hand sanitizer stations and sinks throughout the grounds, and also deploying workers to clean, wipe and disinfect.
Here’s what visitors can expect this year:
▪ There will be 239 sinks and 151 hand-sanitizing stations scattered across the Tamiami fairgrounds.
▪ Hand sanitizer will be available at every ticket, food, merchandise and game booth.
▪ A “disinfectant team” will be cleaning door knobs, tables, and other areas.
The fair’s hyper-hygiene comes amid growing concerns about the possible spread of COVID-19. The respiratory disease novel coronavirus has infected more than 90,000 people across more than 70 countries, including the United States, with slightly more than 80,000 of those infected from China, according to the World Health Organization.
The United States, which has more than 100 cases, has been largely spared from the virus outbreak, but health officials warn that while the threat to the U.S. remains “low” there will be additional cases in the coming days.
Coronavirus fears in Miami pushed officials to postpone the 2020 Ultra Music Festival and cancel Carnaval Miami, the annual Calle Ocho Festival sponsored by Kiwanis of Little Havana. Both events were set to be held later this month.
Cora says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not recommended canceling large-scale events — and unlike Ultra, which attracts thousands of visitors from across the globe, the Youth Fair’s visitors are local. And so far, there have been no coronavirus cases in South Florida.
“We have a safety plan in place that works year after year. The difference this year is that we’re upping that to the 10th degree ... in all, we’ll have over 600 points where a person can wash their hands or sanitize their hands,” Cora said.
As of Thursday, there are no plans to cancel or postpone the fair, but organizers say they are in contact with local health officials and are following the developments of the virus and the CDC’s recommendations.
Food, game and merchandise vendors will be undergoing training the day before the Youth Fair opens on March 12 to discuss safety and hygiene procedures. Also, rides will be sanitized periodically and inspectors will be walking around during the event’s three-week run to make sure vendors are following protocol.
If workers were to get sick, even if it’s from the common cold, the fair would separate them from other employees and visitors, as is standard procedure, Cora said.
Cora says he’s confident in the Youth Fair’s hygiene plans, but says the community also needs to help.
“The fair is taking on the huge responsibility to make sure we are providing the safest event for the family but we’re going to ask the public to make sure they’re not coming here sick and infecting other people,” he said.
Workers have always had to clean fair rides after riders lose their lunch in mid-flight.
“We’ve actually gotten pretty well-verse on how to clean and sanitize rides on the fly,” he said.
IF YOU GO
What: Miami-Dade County Youth Fair
Where: Miami-Dade County Fair & Exposition, 10901 SW 24th Street
When: March 12 - April 5, except March 16-17 and March 30-31, times vary by day.
Tickets: If you buy advance tickets online through March 11: $10 for admission, $20 for 22-Ticket Ride Sheet, $25 for unlimited rides. Regular prices: $14 for admission, $22 for 22-Ticket Ride Sheet, $25 for unlimited rides.
Website: For information on rides, events, tickets, discounts and fair hours, visit www.thefair.me/index.php
This story was originally published March 5, 2020 at 5:04 PM.
