Some Miami city parks will reopen Wednesday after COVID-19 shutdown. Here’s the list.

After two months of having to keep off the grass in Miami’s city parks, people itching to be in public green spaces will get their day Wednesday.

Miami will reopen 27 parks inside city limits for 12 hours a day, allowing people some of the city’s public spaces for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic spurred shutdowns in mid-March. Cities sought to curb the spread of COVID-19 by closing city properties.

Last week, Mayor Francis Suarez and mayors of other Miami-Dade cities announced they would begin to open some businesses and recreational spaces May 20, a few days after the county allowed a broad segment of retail establishments and restaurants to reopen. In explaining the decision, Suarez pointed to an analysis by Florida International University infectious disease and biostatistics experts that showed decreased infection rates and a slow, gradual decrease in key hospitalization metrics over a two-week period.

The number of confirmed infections in Florida and hospitalizations in Miami-Dade spiked over the weekend. Gov. Ron DeSantis attributed the increase in infections to a backlog of three-week-old test results from an undisclosed testing site. Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez said the change in hospitalizations stems from more residents from long-term facilities being sent to hospitals for COVID-19 treatment. The county mayor said the numbers should not discourage businesses from reopening this week.

The city of Miami has more than 140 parks and recreational spaces. Government administrators chose 27 of them to reopen from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, starting Wednesday. They chose some of the city’s larger parks so people can practice social distancing.

”We’re excited to reopen a limited number of City parks this week so that our residents can get out and enjoy some fresh air and exercise after a lengthy COVID-19 shutdown,” said Miami City Manager Art Noriega, in a statement announcing the reopenings.

“As we begin to carefully reopen our parks and businesses, we ask all Miamians to do their part to keep our community safe by following the social distancing rules and other guidelines we’ve put in place,” Noriega said.

Miami city leaders have waited longer than Miami-Dade County to allow people to return to parks for the first time since a March 18 countywide emergency order shuttered parks across Miami-Dade. The county reopened its properties April 29 with a bevy of rules and 400 newly hired security guards to patrol.

The city of Miami’s parks will not have beefed-up security, though park rangers and police will be enforcing the regulations. The rules, which will be posted on signs at park entrances, include:

▪ Face masks are required at all times, except for children under 2 years old or people doing vigorous exercise.

▪ People may visit parks individually or with members of their households.

▪ Social distancing is required at all times, except for groups of people from the same household who are visiting the park together.

▪ Organized sports, pickup games and sessions with trainers are prohibited. Passive and leisure uses that are allowed include walking, jogging, cycling, roller skating, singles tennis and solo racquetball.

▪ Birthday parties, barbecues, picnics and gatherings of any other kind are strictly prohibited.

▪ Playgrounds, fitness zones, dog parks, pools, picnic shelters, basketball and volleyball courts, and sports fields remain closed.

The following parks will reopen Wednesday.

This story was originally published May 18, 2020 at 7:19 PM.

Joey Flechas

Miami Herald

305-376-3602

Joey Flechas is an associate editor and enterprise reporter for the Herald. He previously covered government and public affairs in the city of Miami. He was part of the team that won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for reporting on the collapse of a residential condo building in Surfside, FL. He won a Sunshine State award for revealing a Miami Beach political candidate’s ties to an illegal campaign donation. He graduated from the University of Florida. He joined the Herald in 2013.