Reopening Miami-Dade: June 1 Target Date Set To Reopen Beaches, Hotels
MIAMI BEACH (CBSMiami) – Miami-Dade County is taking another big step to reopening South Florida by setting a target of June 1 to reopen beaches and hotels. This includes beaches and hotels in Miami Beach as well.
Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez and local leaders agreed to the target date on Friday morning.
The exact rules regarding the reopening are still to come. City managers will be meeting with County staff and medical experts over the weekend to create the rules that would be necessary for the safe and secure reopening of beaches and hotels.
The group will meet with Mayor Gimenez again on Tuesday to go over the proposed plan.
The June 1 target date comes after Memorial Day when beaches are traditionally packed for the holiday.
"We have to exercise some measure of caution because there is a natural tension between crowds and physical distancing," Miami Beach Mayor Gelber said. "How do you manage that in a pandemic? The answer is carefully. We know that Memorial Day is a traditional time for everybody to go to the beach and if we saw hundreds of thousands of people on our beaches, it would be a disaster."
Miami-Dade entered Florida's first phase of reopening on Monday, but Miami Beach, Miami and Hialeah waited until Wednesday to begin allowing non-essential businesses to reopen. Restaurant dining rooms in those three cities will be able to reopen May 27.
For hotels and restaurants, beach reopening will hopefully lead to more customers.
David Rivero owns Puerto Sagua in Miami Beach. He says, "We're all eager to get back to work and open up the business." The business has been there for 51 years. Rivero had to shut down for two and a half months.
Hotels in Miami-Dade, with the exception of essential lodgers, were ordered to close March 23.
Broward County has set a target date to reopen hotels and beaches for May 26, the day after Memorial Day as well.
The Florida Keys will reopen to visitors on June 1, allowing hotels and vacation rentals to operate at 50 percent capacity.
