Months after the coronavirus closed bars and nightclubs in South Florida, they are now allowed to reopen as the state moves to Phase 3 of its recovery from COVID-19.
Each county on Friday was poring over a new order from Gov. Ron DeSantis that removed all remaining restrictions on bars and restaurants because the coronavirus pandemic has eased.
Rules may vary among Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties, but all are reopening some businesses earlier than expected.
Even though Gov. Ron DeSantis called for restaurants to reopen at full capacity across Florida, counties in South Florida said they will keep restaurants open at half-capacity.
Late Friday evening, Broward County issued an order saying that bars, nightclubs, adult entertainment, breweries, banquet halls and any other establishment with a food or liquor license could operate at 50% capacity indoors, effective immediately.
Palm Beach County allowed its bars to reopen at half capacity Friday, and Miami-Dade said it planned to soon reopen its bars, too.
DeSantis surprised many local government officials Friday when he announced the state was immediately moving forward with a broader reopening.
Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties — the hardest hit with COVID-19 infections — have been moving slower to reopen than other parts of the state, keeping certain businesses closed and tighter restrictions intact.
“You’re probably going to see a different approach in Southern Florida,” DeSantis acknowledged during a news conference in St. Petersburg.
South Florida accounts for about 42% of Florida’s total coronavirus cases, despite being home to about 29% of the state’s population. But recently, South Florida’s infection rate stacks up about the same compared with Florida’s other highly populated areas.
Broward’s daily COVID-19 testing positivity was reported at 3.02% on Friday, with 196 new cases, while Hillsborough County had a 4.31% positivity for new infections and 150 new cases. Miami-Dade County, though, still had a higher than desired 5.4% positivity and 510 new cases Friday.
Elsewhere, Orange County reported a 4.22% positivity rate and 172 new cases, while Palm Beach County was lower — with a 2.92% positivity rate and 161 new cases.
Palm Beach County Mayor Dave Kerner emphasized Friday that it was the governor’s decision to move all 67 counties into Phase 3 and that his county did not choose to do it on its own. As part of the move into Phase 3, all bars and any other businesses in Palm Beach County that were previously closed were allowed to reopen Friday.
Kerner said he was informed of the governor’s decision Friday, forcing Palm Beach County to accelerate its reopening timeline. On Thursday, the county had announced that bars were going to reopen on Oct. 5 and that numerous businesses, such as comedy clubs and bingo parlors, would’ve reopened Monday.
DeSantis’ order, which takes effect immediately, also prohibited local governments from collecting fines related to pandemic-related mandates, such as mask requirements — leading many people to question whether they no longer would be required to wear masks.
“We need to get away from trying to penalize people for social distancing and just work with people constructively,” DeSantis said. “All these fines we’re going to hold in abeyance.”
Kerner said Palm Beach County’s mask mandate is still in effect, but the county won’t be able to enforce fines against people who fail to comply. The county, however, still can levy punishment against businesses that fail to enforce the mask mandate in their establishments, he said.
Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber was frustrated with the decision on masks.
“What it seems to do is it’s a political decision, not something to protect people,” he said. “First of all, the mask requirement is helping us open up our economy. Eliminating it doesn’t just endanger people, but endangers our opening. He’s trying to follow [President Donald] Trump’s example the best he can.”
DeSantis said the state is ready for the change after a prolonged period of declining virus infections and hospitalizations. He didn’t mention the state’s COVID-19 death toll, which surpassed 14,000 victims on Friday.
The state has reported an average of about 100 virus deaths a day in the past seven days, even as there has been a downward trend of new cases for over a month. The state Department of Health on Friday reported another 2,847 people had tested positive, the sixth consecutive day of fewer than 3,000 new cases.
In championing the push for full restaurant operations, DeSantis made a point of highlighting statistics showing hospitalizations are way down for people with a primary diagnosis of COVID-19.
“For the restaurants there will not be limitations from the state of Florida,” he said. “This will be very, very important to the industry, and it also will be recognition that they have worked as hard as anybody to create safe environments.”
Although the governor announced the move to Phase 3, there was no immediate breakdown of all details for the order, so counties and cities on Friday afternoon still were trying to piece together where they stood with the governor’s plans.
Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez said counties will still have the ability to make their own restrictions, citing a conversation he had with the governor’s office Friday. “That doesn’t change,” Gimenez said. He said Miami-Dade restaurants will stay at 50% capacity with 6-foot separations or as much as possible.
Other changes are imminent, such as the reopening of bars in Miami-Dade, he said. Gimenez said the rules on reopening bars can be expected late Friday or Saturday. “When they open depends on [the] state order,” he said.
Broward County Administrator Bertha Henry said: “Our community has taken measured steps in our reopening to better promote public health and control our COVID-19 numbers. Because of the Governor’s order I am compelled to expedite the opening of certain establishments.”
The move to Phase 3 also removes all remaining restrictions on businesses.
“We’re also saying in the state of Florida everybody has a right to work,” DeSantis said. Local governments “can do reasonable regulations, but they can’t just say no.”
The four major parts of the governor’s order:
It removes all remaining state-level restrictions on businesses, including on bars and restaurants, which were capped at 75% capacity in Phase 3 of DeSantis’ original reopening plan.
It provides a general right to work and to operate a business. Local governments can limit and regulate businesses but won’t be able to close businesses because of coronavirus concerns.
Local governments won’t be able to prevent restaurants from operating at below 50% capacity. Under previous orders, local governments could go further than state-level restrictions. Also, cities and counties won’t be able to impose any restrictions without an economic and health justification.
Cities and counties can’t collect on any outstanding fines they issued as part of their pandemic response. The order, though, doesn’t compel local governments to refund anyone who has already paid a fine.
Asked whether the state would impose new restrictions if the prevalence of the virus spiked, DeSantis was noncommittal.
“We’re prepared if we see an increase,” he said. “We’re not closing anything going forward. But I think if you look at our hospital capacity, if you look what we did to marshal the latest medications, if you look at what we’ve done to help with all the PPE and the testing and everything, we have the tools in place that we need.”
He added: “Has there been a second wave anywhere? I think we should prepare for that … we’ll be ready for it and I think people should still understand that the virus, it doesn’t go away. Even if you have a vaccine it doesn’t go away.”
Orlando Sentinel staff writer Gray Rohrer contributed to this report. Marc Freeman can be reached at mjfreeman@sunsentinel.com and on Twitter @marcjfreeman.
