Christmas to end early in South Florida as Broward announces holiday curfew

Holiday parties will have to end early this year in Broward County as a new curfew is implemented, modeled after Miami-Dade County’s.

During a call with Broward city mayors on Tuesday, Broward County Mayor Steve Geller issued a curfew for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays as county novel coronavirus cases see spikes.

The curfew will be in place between midnight and 5 a.m. from Dec. 24 to Jan. 4. Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve are getting curfew exceptions, with it starting later at 1 a.m. and ending at 5 a.m.

On Tuesday, Broward reported 806 additional confirmed cases and eight new deaths. The county’s known total is now at 128,963 cases and 1,792 deaths. Since Thanksgiving, the county has seen several days where there were more than a thousand new cases.

Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava announced Thursday she was rolling back Miami-Dade’s curfew to 1 a.m. for Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.

Key West went for a stricter curfew as Mayor Teri Johnston issued an emergency order that set a 10 p.m. to 6 a.m curfew for three nights, starting Dec. 31 and ending at 6 a.m. Jan. 3. Only essential businesses can stay open past 10 p.m. on these nights. People must be at their homes or rentals by 10:30 p.m. each night, the order states.