Fort Lauderdale, Nearby Communities To Close Beaches On July 4

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL — Fort Lauderdale and nearby beach communities will join Miami-Dade County in closing beaches over the upcoming holiday weekend in an attempt to stem the tide of the deadly coronavirus.

"This coming weekend, July 4 weekend, Fort Lauderdale beach will be closed," Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean J. Trantalis announced Sunday. "The sand will be closed for tourists, for visitors, for locals, from Friday, July 3 through Sunday, July 5."

Broward County Mayor Dale V.C. Holness announced Monday he is closing all county beaches starting at 12:01 a.m. Friday through 11:59 p.m. Sunday.

Palm Beach County Mayor Dave Kerner also ordered his beaches closed from Friday through Sunday.

Monroe County, which includes the city of Key West and the Florida Keys, announced Monday it will close all county-owned parks and beaches starting Thursday at 5 p.m. They will reopen Tuesday.

"The reason why we're doing this is because we feel that we will not be able to provide the necessary safe environment that everyone is entitled to enjoy when they come to our beaches," Trantalis said as a few hecklers yelled out "Freedom" and references to their constitutional rights.

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez announced late Friday he plans to shut down Miami-area beaches during the upcoming July 4 holiday weekend and possibly longer in response to the recent surge in coronavirus cases.

"This does not mean that our businesses are closing," Trantalis said. "Our businesses will remain open —all the restaurants, all the T-shirt shops, all the retail shops — everything will be open."

The Fort Lauderdale mayor said A1A, which runs along the ocean, will remain open to traffic and pedestrians.

"We're probably going to close one lane off with cones so people can walk along A1A," Trantalis said.

The Miami-Dade beach closure will take place on Friday and end on Tuesday or possibly longer.

Florida has set a series of one-day records for coronavirus cases over the past two weeks, prompting state officials to suspend the consumption of consumption of on-premises alcohol sales at bars.

Related:

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• FL Sees Record Coronavirus Spike; Alcohol Sales Suspended In Bars
• Miami's Famed South Beach Reopens With Social Distancing: PHOTOS

Hallandale Beach Mayor Joy F. Cooper and Lauderdale-By-The-Sea Mayor Christopher Vincent joined Trantalis also said they will be shutting down their beaches for the holiday weekend.

"I'm the most southern city — Hallandale Beach," Cooper said. "Obviously with Dade County closing their beaches — my beach is a backyard to many of our residents. We would like them to understand that we are doing this to protect the public and to stop the spread of COVID-19, which is with us now."

She encouraged her residents to stay at home over the holiday weekend and celebrate with their families.

"Be grateful for the wonderful America that we have," she said. "We're all in this together now, and we will get through it if everyone cooperates and continues to social distance."

Vincent said the Fourth of July weekend brings out about 10 times as many people as a typical summer weekend.

"You've got to practice what you preach," Vincent said. "What we do know is what we don't know. That's the precautions we're going to take as elected officials and why we're here to protect everyone, whether you agree or disagree."

The Miami-Dade mayor cited the rising positive test results among young adults and increasing hospitalizations as reasons for the beach closings in Miami-Dade County, which adjoins Broward County to the south and includes the cities of Miami and Miami Beach.

"As we continue to see more COVID-19 positive test results among young adults and rising hospitalizations, I have decided that the only prudent thing to do to tamp down this recent uptick is to crack down on recreational activities that put our overall community at higher risk," Gimenez said.

The Miami-Dade order also bans any gatherings, including parades, of more than 50 people throughout the country for whatever reason between Friday and Tuesday. Gimenez said masks and social distancing will be required with a maximum of five groups of no more than 10 people each.

"The Miami-Dade County Police Department will continue to be out in force this weekend to close establishments that are flaunting the social distancing and masks rules and capacity limits," Gimenez said. "Violators face a second-degree criminal penalty of up to $500 and 180 days in jail."

The Miami-Dade mayor said all parks and beaches will also be closed to the public for viewing fireworks in all cities and unincorporated areas of the county.

"Fireworks displays must be viewed from one’s home or parked vehicle," he said.

Miami-area beaches sprang back to life on June 10 after being shut down since March to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

Fort Lauderdale's mayor said the decision to close his beach and other Broward County beaches was prompted in part by the Miami-Dade closure.

"I think Miami-Dade's decision certainly had an impact on what we were intending to do," Trantalis acknowledged. "It was incumbent upon us to realize that the influx of visitors and residents that would otherwise go to Miami-Dade, would ultimately go north."

As he stepped away from the microphone, Trantalis could be heard saying with respect to the hecklers: "You should never allow drunks on the premises."