Miami-Dade reopening some businesses on May 18 after weeks of COVID-19 closures

After nearly two months of closures during the coronavirus pandemic, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez said Friday he plans to allow some businesses to reopen May 18. He did not say which ones, but suggested it would be a broad reopening that will include restaurants.

The target means another 10 days of a historic shutdown of much of the county’s economy before Miami-Dade can test the willingness of residents to spend again and employers to bring back their workers.

“We need to get the economy going and do it as safely as possible,” Gimenez said at a press conference Friday morning.

Gimenez did not say which industries would be exempted from his March 19 order that closed what the mayor deemed “non-essential” businesses. He said beaches would remain closed on May 18, as would nightclubs and movie theaters. He said rules for reopening would circulate next week and suggested they would include a plan for reopening restaurants.

He said the rules would be released early enough for businesses to get ready. “Maybe they need to clear out some tables in a restaurant,” in advance. Those rules need to be out so that “we can hopefully hit that May 18 target date.”

Broward also plans to lift some closure orders on May 18, two Broward office holders said, reflecting a long-running effort by South Florida counties to coordinate the easing of coronavirus restrictions for the region. Palm Beach joined Broward and Miami-Dade in reopening parks in late April.

For businesses, Palm Beach went early, securing public permission Friday from Gov. Ron DeSantis to reopen restaurants and retailers on Monday. Broward remains “tracking with Miami-Dade,” the county’s mayor, Dale V.C. Holness, said in a statement Friday.

County Manager Bertha Henry makes the decision on emergency orders. Commissioner Steve Geller said he’s been in touch with her throughout the week and expects to see Broward join Miami-Dade with lifting restrictions on the 18th.

“What we may differ on is what are we going to reopen,” he said. “I’m extremely confident on the 18th we’ll be opening professional offices and manufacturing and things that don’t require contact with consumers.”

In a memo to commissioners Friday, Gimenez said Miami-Dade was close to unveiling a new effort at contact tracing — the practice of identifying people who have come into contact with someone who later tests positive for COVID-19. Florida’s Department of Health already conducts contact tracing in Miami-Dade, but county leaders have called for a more vigorous effort. Gimenez said the county plans to “ramp up” the tracing ahead of the targeted 18th reopening.

He also established metrics for going forward with the planned reopening, modeled after White House guidelines.

First, Miami-Dade’s daily COVID-19 tests come back under 10 percent positive for an average of two weeks. (It was last above 10 percent on April 27, 11 days ago.)

Second, Miami-Dade COVID-19 cases be on a “downward trajectory” for 14 days. (Cases rise and fall on a daily basis, but have been below 300 every day in May after hitting 377 on April 25.) Third, Miami-Dade will always have at least 30 percent of its intensive-care beds available countywide. (Friday’s hospital report from Miami-Dade said COVID-19 patients occupied 19 percent of the ICU beds that would otherwise be available.)

Flanigan’s ready to reopen on May 18

One of the largest locally owned chains in South Florida, Flanigan’s Seafood Bar and Grill, plans to reopen May 18 in Miami-Dade, said CEO James Flanigan. He’s a member of the group assembled by Gimenez’s office to write rules for reopening restaurants, so has received draft versions the county has circulated privately.

He said Flanigan’s has done well with carryout during the dining room shutdowns, and that he plans to increase seating outside to boost business under Florida’s rule that restaurants cut indoor capacity by 75 percent. While staffing has been limited during the carryout operation, Flanigan said the chain is planning to have a full payroll when restaurants reopen on the 18th.

“I’m bringing everybody back,” Flanigan said. “For the last 10 days, my managers have been doing nothing but bringing everybody back, and hiring to boot.”

Gimenez’s office has declined to release any of the detailed draft rules circulating to more than 100 members of the private groups drafting the plans. The group includes a mix of county administrators, business executives and medical professionals, and they have been reporting to Gimenez during weeks of private video meetings.

The mayor’s office also won’t release its contract with McKinsey, the global consulting firm Gimenez said was hired to fine tune the final plan.

No masks required at restaurant tables (so far)

Some details of the pending rules have leaked.

A draft version of the restaurant rules dated May 7 said establishments may utilize outdoor seating to replace indoor capacity, but can’t create more seating than their permit would otherwise allow inside. The draft rules also state restaurants must have a plan to “continue the maintenance of social distances during rain events.”

The rules also cap tables at four people, or six if they’re from the same family. Customers must enter with masks and wear them at all times, except when seated at a table.

Gimenez’s March 19 emergency decree and others issued that week forced office buildings to empty, stores to close, restaurants to empty their dining rooms and hotels to turn away visitors.

They were the first county pandemic orders of their kind in Florida, triggering unprecedented economic retreat, soaring unemployment and daily lines for food distributions.

In his remarks, Gimenez said May 18 is a “target” date. He said what’s guiding the timing is encouraging hospitalization figures collected by the county each day. As of Thursday, Miami-Dade had fewer than 600 COVID-19 patients in hospitals, according to the report, down from highs in the 700s in April.

The announcement followed a public meeting with Miami-Dade commissioners on Thursday that pushed Gimenez in both directions. Some commissioners urged a quick reopening of some businesses. Commissioner Rebeca Sosa took the other tack, urging a slow approach.

““I don’t see this getting better,” she said. “I know the economy is an important part of our county. ... But health comes first.”

Once Gimenez makes the reopening plan public, a big question will be whether large cities follow it. The three largest in Miami-Dade — Miami, Hialeah and Miami Gardens — did not go along with Gimenez’s decision to lift a countywide park closure order on April 29 and opted to keep their municipal parks closed.

Gimenez has not included the large city governments in the private deliberations about the reopening plans, relying on the county’s League of Cities leadership for municipal input and information sharing.

The mayor said this week that cities creating their own reopening rules causes “confusion,” but he emphasized Friday that they’re free to be more conservative than Miami-Dade.

“The cities can do more and be more strict,” he said. “But they can’t be less strict.”

This story was originally published May 8, 2020 at 12:15 PM.