To curb crowds amid COVID-19, Miami Beach will deploy more cops, ban vacation rentals
Young people continue to gather in Miami Beach, city officials say, seemingly unaware of the recent spikes in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations in Miami-Dade County.
To limit the “unsafe behavior” and promote compliance with coronavirus rules — like wearing masks and social distancing — the city is beefing up its police presence and banning short-term vacation rentals citywide.
City Manager Jimmy Morales, who wields unilateral decision-making powers during the city’s COVID-19 state of emergency, told commissioners Monday that his intent is to “ensure that we make every effort to enforce the emergency orders, restrictions and safety measures” imposed by the city and county.
Short-term rentals, which Morales said are “contributing to the crowds” in South Beach, will be banned beginning Thursday. Visitors can still check into a hotel.
The new policing plan goes into effect Monday. It will require officers to work longer shifts — just under 12 hours per day — and resume “consistent” foot patrols. The police department’s command staff will “be working into the midnight shift, and on a nightly basis, to provide additional leadership and guidance,” Morales wrote in his memo Monday.
The county’s 10 p.m. curfew remains in effect.
This weekend, the city will impose “enhanced staffing” of police in the South Beach entertainment district — which encompasses Ocean Drive and surrounding areas — with help from Miami-Dade County Police.
“The new staffing plan will have more officers out on the road at any given time,” said Officer Ernesto Rodriguez, Miami Beach Police spokesman. “More visibility will in turn curb criminal activity and also allow the officers to continue to seek compliance with the emergency order.”
The new staggered shifts will also limit the potential for COVID-19 transmission among officers, Morales said. More than 40 officers who have been “exposed” to the virus are currently in quarantine, awaiting testing and results, Rodriguez said.
“Moreover, the plan will provide for additional officers on the street thus enabling MBPD to have the much-needed extra personnel to manage the frequently uncooperative and unruly crowds that are completely ignoring all reopening guidelines in the Entertainment District,” Morales said.
More than 2,000 coronavirus patients were admitted to Miami-Dade hospitals Tuesday, up from 1,656 a week ago and 1,298 two weeks ago. Testing has increased in the county, but the average percentage-positive rate over the last two weeks is about 27%, far higher than the 10% mark Miami-Dade set as a threshold in May to begin reopening the economy.
“I think the last two weeks have been really problematic,” Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber said of the crowds in South Beach. “We need more [police] visibility in a big way.”
This story was originally published July 15, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
.JPG)