Miami-Dade County mayor issues order to ensure social distancing

Businesses required to have marked spaces six feet apart

Signs assist with social distancing at a grocery store in Austin, Texas, Miami-Dade County's mayor is instituting marked lines to keep people at a distance. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) (Eric Gay, Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. ā€“ The mayor of Miami-Dade County is going to make sure that people standing in take-out and grocery lines and other essential business lines keep their distance.

On Thursday, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez announced that he is issuing an order for all businesses that are open and servicing the public have marked spaces at their check-out areas. The marked spaces will be in place to keep six feet of distance between customers.

The Centers for Disease Control and Preventionā€™s protocol for social distancing is for people to ā€œremain out of congregate settings, avoiding mass gatherings, and maintain distance (approximately 6 feet or 2 meters) from others when possible.ā€

Gimenez said: ā€œI want to thank those businesses that have been doing this on their own. Now it will be a requirement.ā€

Additionally, despite the city of Miami and Miami Beach under a curfew, Gimenez said that after consultation with Miami-Dade County League of Cities, he is not issuing a countywide curfew.

The curfew, he said, would put an unnecessary burden on the Miami-Dade Police Department.

There is a "stay at home" order in place, however. "Our unified message is safer at home," said Gimenez.

In his daily address, Gimenez also made a point to clear up confusion over the term Shelter in Place.

"That does not apply to this situation. Shelter in Place is for short-term emergencies when people are in imminent danger, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, or active shooter incidents which conveys a message of imminent danger and a need to shelter right away until an all clear is issued."

To view the Miami-Dade County Mayorā€™s complete Emergency Order 12-20, click here.


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