Mask rules lifted in Miami-Dade buildings. Mayor: COVID ‘crisis’ approach is ending

Masks are no longer required in Miami-Dade County’s libraries, government offices and park facilities after Mayor Daniella Levine Cava on Friday announced an end to the COVID-19 “crisis” approach toward a virus that has surged and retreated since the first wave of infections in early 2020.

In a video message recorded days after she ended isolation from a minor bout with COVID herself, Levine Cava said the recent plunge in cases across Miami-Dade means the county no longer needs emergency restrictions related to the virus.

Along with lifting her Dec. 22 masking order for county buildings, Levine Cava said she’ll stop requirements that hospitals report COVID admissions and other virus-related statistics to the county every day.

“Two months ago the omicron variant surged in our community, with a record-breaking 7-day positivity rate of 35%,” Levine Cava said in the message posted on her Twitter account Friday morning. “Two months later, I’m proud to share we’ve been on a steady decline and our positivity rate is now at 5%, in addition to a significant decrease in hospitalizations.”

Masks no longer required at Miami-Dade courts

Shortly after the Levine Cava announcement, the chief judge for Miami-Dade Circuit Court said masks would no longer be required in courthouses. “I’m very grateful to our judges, court staff and court partners for doing their part in keeping everyone who comes through our doors safe,” Chief Judge Nushin Sayfie said in a statement.

While the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eased federal mask guidelines Friday afternoon, mask requirements remain for public transit, airplanes and airports.

Levine Cava outlined a four-point strategy focusing on booster shots, working with Miami-Dade schools to get students vaccinated as eligibility expands and encouraging businesses to have workers stay home when sick.

Levine Cava also said the county’s testing approach would encourage people to get tested not only when symptomatic, but when “exposed” to the virus.

That runs counter to guidance from the administration of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, which discourages people from getting a COVID test without symptoms.

Miami-Dade COVID emergency remains officially in place

Despite announcing a new approach to COVID that shifts Miami-Dade “from crisis mode to safety mode,” Levine Cava kept the two-year state of emergency for the virus in place. First signed by her predecessor, Carlos Gimenez, on March 12, 2020, the state of emergency has been extended weekly since then by order of the mayor.

DeSantis ended Florida’s state of emergency in June, 475 days after it began.

Levine Cava’s office released a statement that said the state of emergency allows for emergency contracting and spending that helped speed up testing expansions in the early days of omicron spread in December.

“Thanks to it, we were able to quickly and aggressively ramp up our services to respond to the recent Omicron surge,” the statement read. “Should a new surge of COVID-19 cases affect our community in the near future, Miami-Dade County government will once again respond quickly to provide potentially life-saving care and services to our residents.”

Levine Cava said Miami-Dade would continue monitoring COVID testing and samples from wastewater to get ahead of any future variant spikes. In November, when the delta variant had receded, Levine Cava lifted mask rules in county buildings, too, only to reimpose the rules weeks later.

Levine Cava’s latest decision to end to the COVID masking rule in county buildings came days after she resumed public appearances following a positive test for the virus on Feb. 17. Levine Cava said she experienced mild symptoms, and followed federal guidelines to end isolation after five days.

“Now, don’t get me wrong. COVID-19 has not been vanquished,” Levine Cava said in her video. “But we are prepared ... We know how to best defend ourselves.”

Miami Herald staff writer David Ovalle contributed to this report.

This story was originally published February 25, 2022 at 1:37 PM.