MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - Miami Beach will impose a curfew for residents and visitors as the number of COVID-19 cases across South Florida continue to rise.
On Wednesday, city officials confirmed a curfew will take effect at 12:30 a.m. Thursday and will run until 5 a.m. daily until further notice.
“This evening at 12:30, we’ll have a curfew in the city of Miami Beach,” Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber said. “Our community typically is a place where people come to socialize and to gather, and there is too much of that going on at this moment, so we got to stop it. We really got to put brakes on it, especially since people are not complying with the physical distancing rules and the mask requirement.”
The announcement comes on the same day the Florida Department of Health confirmed 6,563 new cases of COVID-19 in the state.
The city will also require all liquor stores closed by 8 p.m.
The details of the order are as follows:
- The establishment of a citywide curfew from 12:30 a.m. to 5 a.m., with exceptions including fire, police, and hospital personnel, including the transportation of patients thereto, utility emergency repairs, emergency calls by physicians, essential travel for medical services, treatment, or medication, and food delivery services.
- All retail stores, including package liquor stores, grocery stores, convenience stores, and gasoline service/filling stations, which offer for sale any alcoholic beverage(s), (including, but not limited to, liquor, beer, or wine) for off-premises consumption SHALL BE PROHIBITED from selling any alcoholic beverage(s) after 8 p.m. each day in ALL ZONING DISTRICTS.
- All restaurants must close for dine-in and take-out between the hours of 12:01 a.m. and 6 a.m. Only delivery services are permitted between the hours of 12:01 a.m. and 6 a.m.
In addition, Miami-Dade County directed all hotel pools to close by 8 p.m. for the July 4th weekend, which the city will abide by.
Jose Ormaza, the general manager of On Ocean 7 Cafe, said he expects the business to take a major hit from the curfew.
“Business will be suffering,” Ormaza said. “We’ll lose a considerate amount of money. I’m a little bit worried, to be honest.”
The curfew comes not long after a shooting at the nearby Voodoo Lounge. Police said two people who were not let into the club because they did not have an ID opened fire.
Gelber hopes the curfew can help disperse large crowds, keep people in his city safe and socially distant.
“Some of the public has been great,” Gelber said. “I think our residents, by and large, have been pretty good, but there’s a younger cohort out there that, frankly, doesn’t think this is going to affect them and doesn’t realize it can endanger their parents or their grandparents.”
Those out after curfew can be arrested, city officials said.
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