SUNRISE, FLA. (WSVN) - Broward County Mayor Dale Holness urged residents to always wear face masks in public and follow social distancing guidelines, because that might be the only way to avoid another shutdown in the future.
The mayor addressed COVID-19 concerns at a news conference Tuesday.
“We believe that if we follow these guidelines we can beat this virus and we can avoid shutting down our businesses,” he said. “If we don’t, then we’ll have to shut our businesses down if our hospitals get overrun.”
Holness said the county has seen a flattening in terms of coronavirus cases and positivity rates, but they’re closely watching hospital beds.
“There’s availability of ICU beds in Broward County. Memorial [Regional Hospital] seems to be far more impacted than the others, and that’s probably because of the border with Miami-Dade County,” he said.
Holness’ warning comes as a new COVID-19 testing location opened at Markham Park in Sunrise.
7News cameras captured a long line of cars at the park, Tuesday afternoon.
Along Las Olas Boulevard in downtown Fort Lauderdale, Tuesday afternoon, 7News cameras captured some pedestrians wearing masks, but others were seen not wearing facial coverings.
Inside restaurants like The Floridian, employees said they’re making sure to keep the premises sanitized for customers in an effort to avoid another shutdown.
“We sanitize everything. We sanitize our menus,” said a server. “If we want to keep this open, and we want the luxury of going out to eat, then let’s just wear the masks.”
“Facial coverings, social distancing, that’s what works. It does work, and if we follow that, we won’t have to shut businesses down,” said Holness. “People will be able to provide for themselves and their families and have a good livelihood.”
People or business employees seen not wearing masks could face fines or have their businesses temporarily shut down.
Amsterdam Bar & Restaurant and Triple B Bar & Grill in Hollywood were among nearly a dozen businesses in Hollywood that were ordered closed due to violations.
“In Hollywood, 11 businesses were closed down over the weekend,” said Holness.
County leaders said strict enforcement of these measures is the only way to stop the spread of the virus.
“The alternative is shutting the businesses down, and the county doesn’t want to issue those orders,” said Holness, “so it would be in the best interests of those commissioners, those mayors to enforce the rules so we don’t have to get to where we have to shut the businesses down.”
No appointment is needed at the new testing site at Markham Park. Its current hours of operation are Tuesday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
For more information and a list of testing locations in Broward County, click here.
Anyone with questions and concerns about the coronavirus can call the Florida Department of Health’s 24-hour hotline at 1-866-779-6121.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.