Florida Sees Its 4th Day Running With More Than 100 COVID-19 Deaths

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Carmen Garcia waits in line Friday to be tested for the coronavirus at a mobile testing truck in Miami Beach, Fla. The units were brought to the area as coronavirus cases spike in Florida.

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Gimenez said hospitals have seen new COVID-19 admissions stay steady in recent days, a sign he hopes that cases may be peaking. In the meantime, the county is working to enforce public health rules, including mandatory face coverings. This week, it adopted an ordinance allowing police and code enforcement officers to issue $100 citations.

«That means you must wear a mask inside public places and outdoors,» Gimenez said, «you must social distance or you may get fined.»

In the hours after the order was passed, Miami-Dade County officials said they handed out dozens of citations and closed three businesses.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he supports guidelines requiring face masks in Miami-Dade and other counties. But for weeks as cases have surged statewide, DeSantis has resisted calls that he issue a statewide order requiring face coverings.

On Friday, 12 Democratic members of Florida’s congressional delegation sent a letter to DeSantis calling again for a statewide mask order and stay-at-home orders in the hardest-hit counties. In their letter, the lawmakers, including Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Donna Shalala, said that «closing part of Florida’s economy again would be painful.» But «if we continue with the rate of infection we currently have in Florida, our economy will contract and shutter on its own.»

In Miami-Dade County, Gimenez said he’s waiting to see if stepped-up enforcement and other measures, including a late-night curfew, are effective at stopping large gatherings and other behavior that public health experts said are driving the surge in Florida and elsewhere. Any decisions to order further shutdowns, he said, will be based on data, especially hospitalizations.

«This is a balancing act,» Gimenez said. «Starting to shut down again could cause irreparable damage, irreparable harm to people and their livelihoods on a permanent basis.»

• COVID-19
• Gov. Ron DeSantis
• coronavirus
• Florida