July 4th beach shutdown targets ‘those who are being the most irresponsible,’ mayor says
Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez, who announced he would sign an order closing beaches over the Fourth of July weekend, said the decision focuses on young adults who would violate social distancing rules and create a holiday spike in coronavirus cases.
“I could foresee a Fourth of July where you had throngs of people on the beach, very difficult to keep social distancing, people getting together, especially young people getting together,” Gimenez said Saturday at a mask distribution site in Miami. “And we know that this virus is prevalent in that age group.”
Gimenez spoke at the Miami-Dade County Auditorium on West Flagler Street, where County Commissioner Eileen Higgins was deploying a “rapid response team” to hand out masks and COVID-19 informational packets to Little Havana residents in coronavirus hotspots.
Gimenez said the executive order would close county beaches, as well as public and hotel pools for the holiday weekend. The order also bans gatherings of groups of more than 50 people, including as part of parades or protests, which Gimenez emphasized was already illegal but is simply being reiterated.
Additionally, all county parks will continue to close at 8 p.m., and Fourth of July fireworks shows, which are still on in some cities, must be viewed from home or in a parked car.
Gimenez said the county will continue to crack down on businesses violating social distancing rules and going over capacity. Violators, in addition to the threat of being shut down, can face a $500 fine and up to 180 days in jail, Gimenez said.
Gimenez said all cities within the county should enforce the new rules.
The mayor said people in the 18-34 age group are particularly responsible for the spike in cases.
“This new order will be targeting those who are being the most irresponsible and endangering our community’s health and our economic recovery,” Gimenez said. “Unfortunately, too many young people ages 18-34 are not following the rules and they’re jeopardizing everyone’s health.”
Florida broke another record Saturday, confirming 9,585 new cases of COVID-19. In Miami-Dade County, there were 1,366 new cases, bringing the total to 31,562. Gimenez said positive cases are “way undercounted” in the county.
Gimenez added he’s more concerned about the rate of positive test results being reported as well as the number of hospitalizations than the sheer number of new cases.
Gimenez did not say if he’s considering additional measures beyond those announced Friday to contain increased spread of the virus. But he did say he will extend the shutdown of beaches “if we do not see people taking this seriously.”
This story was originally published June 27, 2020 at 2:48 PM.