MIAMI (WSVN) - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis met with several Miami-Dade County mayors to discuss measures the state is taking to help stem the spread of COVID-19 and other pressing concerns.
The governor sat down with mayors from six cities and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez, Tuesday afternoon.
They spent considerable part of the roundtable discussion, hosted by DeSantis in Miami, addressing the need for more contact tracing to be done in Miami-Dade.
The governor, seen wearing a face mask, said he has allocated funding for that purpose.
Gimenez and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said they’re keeping all options on the table, as COVID-19 cases continue to climb in the Sunshine State.
“There is a significant amount of pressure right now for us to shut down at some level, and I think we are at sort of a critical juncture,” said Suarez, “that if things do not improve quickly over the next week or two, I think we are going to be under a significant of pressure to do something like that.”
“If the situation proceeds and moves forward in the wrong direction, we may have to take additional steps,” said Gimenez.
On Tuesday, the Florida Department of Health reported 9,261 new infections statewide, with well over a third in South Florida
Participants in the roundtable said people who refuse to wear masks or practice social distancing are to blame for the recent uptick in coronavirus cases in the county.
“I think what we’ve found is, when people follow the guidelines, and they follow the program, we tend not to have major problems,” said DeSantis.
“In order for us not to take additional steps, we need to be responsible,” said Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez. “You need to have a social conscience, be responsible to your neighbor.”
The mayors agreed that the record spread of the virus is happening at home.
“We need to be more responsible: you and I, everybody,” said Gimenez.
“Over 30% of the people who are getting sick are either reporting it from a family member or from home,” said Miami Mayor Francis Suarez.
DeSantis said the limited contact tracing data they have gathered suggests the majority of the spread in Miami-Dade has been in the household.
“What we’re seeing is family get-togethers with folks who are younger, multi-generational,” he said.
It was a similar story in Broward County, where Broward Mayor Dale Holness made the same observation about the spread of the virus.
“What they’re finding now is that 80% of the folks who are testing positive are actually transmitting within family, within households,” he said.
Last week, Broward County ordered all restaurants to close at 10 p.m. and limited short-term rentals to 10 people or less.
Miami-Dade leaders, meanwhile, banned indoor dining and made masks mandatory at gyms, on top of the ongoing countywide curfew, but local leaders stressed many are still missing the message.
Miami Gardens Mayor Oliver Gilbert said some people have found ways to get around bar and club closures.
“We said you couldn’t socialize in areas. What we should have been saying is, ‘You can’t socialize,'” he said, “because it’s not where you’re doing it, it’s what you’re doing and the proximity to other people.”
Jackson Health System President and CEO Carlos Migoya, who also attended the roundtable, said that healthcare workers have been treating patients with COVID-19 for five months now, and it’s not sustainable.
“We don’t have a month in front of us. We have to do something now,” he said.
Migoya said everyone needs to do their part and follow safety guidelines, and municipalities need to enforce these emergency orders.
“Use your police departments, firefighters, all municipal workers. All public officials [need] to be out there being ambassadors and enforcing the masking, social distancing and cleaning hands,” he said.
Notably absent from the roundtable was Hialeah Mayor Carlos Hernández. He said he tried to attend the meeting but was told by the governor’s staff that he was not invited and was not allowed inside the venue.
When asked about Hernández’s absence, DeSantis said it was an oversight, and he would be happy to meet with him.
Hialeah is the second largest city in Miami-Dade and one of the county’s COVID-19 hotspots.
Anyone with questions and concerns about the coronavirus can call the Florida Department of Health’s 24-hour hotline at 1-866-779-6121.
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