The coronavirus won’t stop spring break in South Beach. Just wash your hands, city says.
If a Statue of Liberty replica appeared on the sands of South Beach, it might say something like, “Give me your huddled masses, yearning to party free.”
Amid coronavirus fears and the cancellation of Ultra Music Festival, city leaders sent a clear message Thursday that Miami Beach is “open for business” this spring break — and that jilted electronic dance music fans should still spend money in the city. The administration is considering alternative programming, like public parties, that caters to would-be Ultra fans.
“In light of all these cancellations, we’ll see how many of their visitors cancel,” City Manager Jimmy Morales said. “A lot of them may be coming anyway.”
“We’ll try to see if we can draw a silver lining out of it and at least give them something positive to do.”
Winter Party Festival, the annual LGBTQ music festival that has been held in Miami Beach since 1994, is scheduled to go on as planned from March 4-10, as is the Winter Music Conference, March 16-19, when it will celebrate its 35th anniversary.
With coronavirus top of mind, Winter Party Festival rolled out a hygiene campaign instructing guests to wash their hands — especially after making contact with others.
“Don’t go back to the dance floor all nasty. Who wants to ruin their vibe by getting sick,” reads a flier for the festival. “Regular handwashing, particularly before and after certain activities (don’t make us list them here), is one of the best ways to remove germs, avoid getting sick and prevent the spread of germs to others.”
At the festival’s welcome reception on Wednesday, Mayor Dan Gelber demonstrated what a “Winter Party Festival hug” should look like: fist bump, heel tap, butt bump and jazz hands — in that order.
During a goals conference Thursday morning, Morales briefed commissioners on the city’s efforts to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19 during a busy tourism month on the island.
Hand sanitizer and hand-wash stations will be installed on the beachfront between Seventh and 10th streets during the city’s public parties for spring break, beginning Friday. The city’s sanitation department has increased the frequency of cleaning work, wiping down touch surfaces like door handles and handrails every day. Workers are also thoroughly cleaning youth centers, beachfront restrooms and city facilities.
“Until further notice, we’re taking all precautions but we’re open for business,” Morales said. “I know we’re already getting inquiries in light of Ultra.”
City leaders have invited the managers of every Miami Beach hotel to a meeting Monday to discuss how to prepare for the potential spread of coronavirus south into Miami-Dade County, including putting up signs in hotel lobbies and instructing staff on how to report possible cases to the city.
Fears about the disease have already led to event cancellations at the Miami Beach Convention Center. Zendesk, a San Francisco-based customer service software company, was set to draw 2,300 people to its annual conference there this week, filling 2,700 hotel nights, but canceled on Sunday. The Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau estimates the conference would have brought $1 million to Miami. On Thursday, another conference set for May 12-14 was postponed by its host, Ingram Micro, a California-based tech company, for a $2.2 million loss, the visitors bureau said.
Rolando Aedo, chief operating officer of the bureau, said many hotels are reporting significant losses. Ultra will make that worse.
“Cancellation on the scale of Ultra will have an impact,” Aedo said. “Whether you’re in Miami Beach or downtown, it definitely has been one of the top performing days from the hotels’ perspective.”
The city has met with the leadership of Mount Sinai Medical Center to ensure the hospital staff is prepared to handle a southern spread of coronavirus. Florida has identified four cases of coronavirus in the northern half of the state, and five other Floridians are being isolated in other states after positive diagnoses.
Gelber said planning for coronavirus is more “daunting” than preparing for hurricanes or Zika, which South Florida cities have more experience doing. Canceling major tourist events shouldn’t be done in a “knee jerk” way, but with input from medical professionals, he said.
“Decisions about canceling and saying we’re closed, that’s a pretty big deal,” he said. “And that ought to come from somebody who has a healthcare background.”
Living through the coronavirus pandemic isn’t about “risk elimination,” Gelber said. “This is about risk management.”
Alina Tejeda Hudak, the city’s new assistant city manager, was appointed by Morales as Miami Beach’s point person for coronavirus. While Morales said it was frustrating not to know if the state is testing any patients with ties to Miami Beach, the administration said the city is doing everything in its power to stay in touch with health officials and post information online.
“The city has been very proactive,” she said. “We’ve done everything that we possibly could.”
Hudak, who served as the county’s deputy mayor and managed its Zika virus prevention plan, said that like the “Drain and Cover” phrase during Zika, the key sound bite for residents this time around should be “Wash your hands often.”
Commissioner Mark Samuelian said the city should monitor the situation but not jump the gun.
“A blanket freeze on everything we do here in Miami Beach or a shutting down of business, to me, that at this point is not warranted,” he said.
While city leaders emphasized keeping a cool head when talking about the pandemic, Commissioner David Richardson asked the administration about what contingency plans the city has in case one of the commissioners gets sick.
“Does the administration have a contingency plan in the event that one of us may be quarantined?” Richardson asked. “Let’s say the mayor is quarantined or I’m quarantined.”
Raul Aguila, the city attorney, said sick commissioners may appear at future meetings through a live stream if they have a doctor’s note.
“We’ve done it before when commissioners were abroad or commissioners have been ill,” Aguila said.
Miami Herald Staff Writer Taylor Dolven contributed to this report
This story was originally published March 5, 2020 at 4:31 PM.
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