Miami-Dade resumes citations for COVID violations after confusion from governor’s order
Following days of confusion over an emergency order by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Miami-Dade police announced Thursday they will resume fining people who don’t wear masks and violate curfew.
Miami-Dade’s decision comes just three days after Detective Alvaro Zabaleta, a spokesman for Miami-Dade police, said that officers were no longer fining people who violated county emergency orders, “because the governor pardoned everything.”
On March 10, DeSantis signed an executive order declaring that all fines for violating local COVID-19 orders were canceled. On Monday, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava issued a statement along with the mayors of Broward and Palm Beach counties criticizing the governor’s order.
“As our positivity rate trends in the right direction and vaccination accelerates, we must continue to follow the protocols that we know are effective in preventing the spread of the virus until we have widespread community immunity,” Miami-Dade police said in a statement. “We will continue to educate and work closely with residents and businesses about key public health precautions, as we work to protect our community in the final chapter of this fight.”
Miami-Dade implemented a mandatory mask order and later a curfew during the peak of COVID-19 cases in the summer of 2020. Anyone who violates the local COVID rules faces a civil offense of a $100 fine, and businesses where violations occur face a $500 fine.
Curfew in Miami-Dade is midnight, although Levine Cava announced two weeks ago that she will lift it on April 5 “if current trends continue.” The decision was taken following a 30-day review of COVID data by the county’s chief public safety officer and chief medical officer.
This isn’t the first time that the county has worked around one of DeSantis’ orders. In September, when the governor issued an order that prevented local governments from collecting fines from people cited for violating COVID rules, then County Mayor Carlos Gimenez said the police department would continue issuing mask citations and pursue the $100 fines once the state of emergency expired.
Levine Cava’s office did not immediately respond to a requests for comment.
This story was originally published March 18, 2021 at 12:45 PM.
