MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – Officials in Miami-Dade and Broward are closing down all public beaches for the Fourth of July holiday weekend as COVID-19 cases spike in Florida.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez didn’t mince words on Saturday, saying he had no choice because of the surge of coronavirus cases to close the beaches for the July 4th holiday, and he will extend the closure even longer if people don’t comply.
“I can foresee a Fourth of July where you have throngs of people on the beach, very difficult to keep social distancing, people getting together, especially young people getting together. We now see this virus is prevalent in this age group and we want to keep this down, Gimenez said.
Gimenez said he is also sending a stern warning ahead of time, that if people don’t comply with the Fourth of July restrictions, he’s willing to shut down the beaches even longer.
“I want to stress that I will extend this order and keep the beaches closed past July 7 if we do not see people taking this seriously.”
On Sunday, Local 10 News learned that Broward County would be following suit, closing public beaches from July 3rd to July 5th. Officials are supposed to make that an official announcement on Monday.
Fort Lauderdale’s Mayor Dean Trantalis confirmed that the beaches in his city will be closed for the Fourth of July weekend.
“The most important thing in the city of Fort Lauderdale is to ensure this virus doesn’t spread as much as it has been,” Trantalis said.
The beach closures are due to the latest spike in both counties of COVID-19 cases, especially among a younger demographic. Coronavirus in the state and the country continue to rise.
“The most important thing in the city of Fort Lauderdale is to ensure this virus doesn’t spread as much as it has been.,” said Trantalis.
In Miami-Dade, Gimenez said he had to take action because he has seen that the trend in COVID-19 number rising after a holiday.
“We noticed in the past we had Mother’s Day and Memorial Day, two weeks later, we get a spike. Well we are already experiencing a spike. I don’t want to get a spike on top of a spike.”
To prevent the numbers from increasing further than they have been, Gimenez signed an order stating that:
- All Miami-Dade beaches will close on July 3 and remain closed through July 7, but could be extended.
- Parks will continue to close at 8 p.m. daily.
- Fireworks displays must be viewed from home or from your car.
- Gatherings of more than 50 people are restricted.