MIAMI – As the death toll of the coronavirus climbed to nine on Tuesday, Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez said there is no need to cancel any public events in Miami-Dade County.
Most of the deaths were residents of a nursing home in Seattle and experts said in China, where the outbreak began last year, seniors with health conditions were more likely to die of the virus.
“I am worried about [assisted living facilities]. I am worried about nursing homes,” Gimenez said. “I am also worried about community centers. There is also a lot of community centers where the elderly congregate.”
Gimenez said Miami-Dade County is taking precautionary measures. At the Little Havana Activities & Nutrition Centers of Dade County, the staff has continued to focus on hygiene education and planning the delivery of meals in case the center needs to close.
“We will step up and make sure that those elderly get those services,” Gimenez said.
On Tuesday, the number of infections in Florida climbed to three and to 100 in the United States -- including a new case in New York of a man who had recently traveled to Miami. Gimenez said investigators are looking into the case.
“They will figure out what that person was doing here in Miami, who that person met with or was with, and then local agencies will follow up with their protocol,” Gimenez said.
Gimenez also said he spoke to Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida’s Surgeon General Scott Rivkees about whether or not there was a need to cancel large public events in Miami-Dade County.
“Their message was to live your normal life, take just common-sense precautions, and there was no need to cancel major events,” Gimenez said, adding “that can change.”
Miami-Dade Commissioners decided to go forward with “Spring events” including the Miami-Dade County Fair & Exposition, which is open for 21 days from March 14 to April 7 in Tamiami Park; Calle Ocho Festival held March 15 in Little Havana, and the Ultra Music Festival held March 20-22 in downtown Miami.
Gimenez said that although the international crowd at the Ultra Music Festival concerns him, he knows officials at the Miami International Airport will be screening tourists coming from countries such as China, Italy and South Korea, where the coronavirus is spreading.
“They will be screened a lot more,” Gimenez said.
More than 92,000 people, most of them in mainland China, have been diagnosed with the virus and about 3,160 have died. The World Health Organization reported 79 died in Italy, 77 in Iran and 28 died in South Korea.