What are the Florida Keys doing to combat coronavirus? Depends on where you are
Key West on Thursday banned gatherings of 10 people at gyms, on charter boats, on tour buses and other places that attract a crowd.
“Attractions and activities which support social gatherings to ten or more people in a limited area and operate within or from the City of Key West shall cease operations” at midnight Thursday going into Friday, the city wrote in a declaration.
“It’s a head count,” said city spokeswoman Alyson Crean. “Nine and under is OK. It’s limiting the number of people that can gather in one place.”
In the Village of Islamorada, the four-island Upper Keys municipality, officials announced that all beaches, including Founders Park, Library Park and Anne’s Beach will be closed indefinitely starting Friday. The beaches at “the Fills,” from mile marker 77 to 79.8, will also close, as will the boat ramp at Indian Key Fill, said Mary Swaney, village public information officer.
At Islamorada’s municipal marina, Plantation Key Yacht Harbor, mile marker 87, the fuel dock and boat ramp will only be open to marina residents, Swaney said. No new vessels will be admitted.
“The additional closures are necessary as Islamorada acts to protect the health of all residents, staff, customers and visitors,” she said in a statement.
The tougher restrictions aren’t new for Key West, which banned on-premises dining Tuesday, ordering restaurants to do only takeout and delivery.
Many museums and tours have already shut down.
Meanwhile, the county stuck with the governor’s restrictions to keep restaurants at 50 percent capacity and tables six feet apart.
The Florida Keys have yet to report a case of the novel coronavirus after having tested 30 people as of Wednesday.
That doesn’t mean the pandemic hasn’t touched the island chain, officials have said.
“It’s possible that it could be here but we don’t know that,” said Bob Eadie, administrator of the Florida Department of Health in Monroe County. “To my knowledge, it is possible we could have it here.”
Where are all the tourists? In the Florida Keys, they haven’t gone anywhere — yet
Tourists remain in the Keys during another spring break week, and are still filing down U.S. 1, despite the tourist attractions being closed one-by-one and endangering people here, Key West City Commissioner Sam Kaufman said Thursday in a statement berating county leaders.
The county hasn’t pointedly told tourists to stop coming but taxpayer dollars are no longer being spent on any new advertising by the Monroe County Tourist Development Council.
Some Key West restaurants stayed open past coronavirus cutoff. What happens next?
“It doesn’t make sense to spend money on advertising right now at a time when travel is not on most people’s front burner,” said Andy Newman, of the TDC.
Monroe County Mayor Heather Carruthers said the Keys could do better on discouraging travel.
“We do need to do a better job of dissuading people from visiting — frankly not just here, but throughout the country,” Carruthers said.
Eadie’s comments came at the same time a Key West City commissioner and a former commissioner say the county isn’t doing enough to protect people in the Keys.
“Monroe County exposes our residents to increased risk by not taking appropriate cautionary measures to protect against the spread of the virus,” said City Commissioner Sam Kaufman, in a joint statement with the former commissioner Harry Bethel.
“The county has refused to close beaches and parks which is attracting large crowds,” they said. “The county allows restaurants to remain open for inside seating inviting large numbers of people inside these facilities. No one knows the impact that these county policies will have on the spread of the virus..”
The city has also closed its beaches, parks and recreational facilities, while the county has allowed Higgs Beach to remain open as long as people don’t gather in groups of 10.
On Thursday, Fury Watersports Adventures, which employs 200 people, shut down tours while others kept going but limiting the number of passengers.
“The health and safety of our employees and passengers is our top priority,” Fury said in a statement.
Historic Tours of America has already halted its Conch Tour Trains and Trolley-type buses. Bars are shut down due to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ executive order.
The three courthouses in the Keys closed to the public as of Thursday. Monroe County Schools, like all Florida all schools, are now closed until April 15.
The famous Southernmost Point buoy marker is covered with a blue tarp and barricaded off to the public.
Many museums are closed. Concerts have been postponed and social events like Conch Republic Independence Days are off for now.
Live music went away with the bars, which were closed by the state this week.
As for the number of tests that have been done, 30, most of the results are still pending. Nine have come back negative.
The number of tests doesn’t matter, Eadie said.
“Whether you have the test or don’t have the test, it doesn’t matter,” Eadie said. “Your physician needs to know if you’re feeling symptoms. Your physician is going to treat you. You should be self-isolating if you have symptoms and calling your physician.”
