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KEY LARGO, FLA. (WSVN) - Monroe County officials said they do not anticipate reopening the Florida Keys to visitors in May.
“Because of the continued threat of COVID-19 in areas outside of Monroe County, not allowing visitors back to the Florida Keys will still be in place throughout May, and potentially longer given the state of the virus,” county officials said in a statement.
The county is currently under a state of emergency and officials said they have begun coordinating the draft framework with local municipalities to ensure a safe and unified approach to the “new normal.”
Officials said the relaxing of protective measures may be considered once the county sees no new cases, or a downward trend of cases for two weeks. Testing would also have to become more widespread.
Shannon Weiner is Monroe County’s Emergency Operations Center Director. She has helped residents through hurricanes, but now she is navigating the Florida Keys through the toughest disaster she’s seen in her career.
“The closure to visitors has been a directive that has served Monroe County very well,” Weiner said. “If we were to open the county to visitors too soon, we would not have the capacity. We would be immediately overwhelmed. Our healthcare system is truly that small in this county. We are being very cautious in how we proceed.”
Closing the Florida Keys to visitors has dramatically slowed traffic along U.S. 1 and appears to have dramatically slowed the spread of the virus. As of Friday, the county has only seen three deaths from the virus and 76 positive cases.
Meanwhile, Jennifer DeMaria owns a bed and breakfast on Big Pine Key called Deer Run on the Atlantic. No guests have stayed at her business’ oceanfront rooms for weeks.
“That roadblock has served a purpose, but it is not meant to be permanent,” DeMaria said. “Looking at another month that, of course, is an extreme hardship and knowing that I think is going to put some businesses over the edge. As a small business owner, I am going to say it’s horrific. We have had zero cash flow.”
The pandemic hit the area six months after DeMaria was finally able to reopen from Hurricane Irma, which destroyed her home.
Although she wants the area to reopen, she wants to do it the right way to minimize risk.
“To open it too soon would be devastating and even worse,” DeMaria said. “Here we are coming into the wet season. How much more can we take? Really, how much more can we take?”
However, because Monroe County appears to be containing the spread of the virus, there has not been an additional death from COVID-19 reported in the county in over a month.
If issues re-arise, protective measures could then be re-implemented.
County officials said they would also review the actions of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, while working out their plan to reopen.
The early forecasts are predicting a busy 2020 hurricane season, which is the last thing people in the Florida Keys want to hear.
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