Miami-Dade Mayor Imposes Mandatory Mask Order

MIAMI, FL — Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez signed an order Wednesday night requiring face coverings in all indoor and outdoor public spaces as Florida's most populous county reported its 1,000th death from the coronavirus earlier in the day.

"After consulting with the CEOs of South Florida hospitals and Florida Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Mary Mayhew this afternoon, I have decided to issue an emergency order requiring masks in all public spaces inside and outdoors throughout Miami-Dade County," Gimenez said in a statement Wednesday night.

Florida health officials reported 6,563 new cases of the coronavirus Wednesday as the total cases rose to 158,997 from 152,434 cases over the previous 24-hour period. See Florida Coronavirus Update: 6,563 New Cases

The mask order took effect Thursday morning. The order does not require masks to be worn inside a private residence, private automobile, religious institution, hotel, motel, commercial lodging establishment guest room or inside an apartment.

Children under the age of 2 are excluded from the order as are people who cannot wear a mask or face covering as a result of a medical condition. The mask order also excludes people who are hearing impaired and people who are communicating with someone who is hearing impaired.

The measure does not require masks where health regulations prohibit the wearing of facial coverings or in the case of people "actively engaged in strenuous physical activity" either inside or outdoors. It does not require people to wear masks when they are swimming or engaged in other activities which may cause the facial covering to become wet.

It also does not require people to wear masks if they are "eating, drinking, or smoking; and while a person is receiving services which require access to that person’s nose or mouth."

Neighboring Broward County issued a similar mask order that takes effect at 11:59 p.m. Thursday night. Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties all have announced beach closures over the Fourth of July weekend to stem the rising tide of coronvirus cases.

"I also spoke with Broward County officials, to ensure we take a regional approach to tamp down the rising number of COVID-19 cases and avoid stretching some smaller hospitals’ ability to have sufficient staffing in the event of too many cases overwhelming the region’s health care system," Gimenez said. "After speaking with Broward County Administrator Bertha Henry, we agreed that a blanket facial coverings order is needed at this time."

Gimenez said hospital leaders in the virtual meeting included the CEOs from Jackson Health, U-Health, Mount Sinai, Baptist, HCA and Tenet health systems. Also participating in the call were hospital officials from Broward and Palm Beach counties.

"It will continue to require masks indoors in public spaces, such as office buildings, stores and all businesses, as required by Order 20-20, which I signed on April 9," Gimenez said with respect to the Miami-Dade mask order. The mayor said the order requires masks to be worn outdoors with few exceptions.

"The exclusions to the use of masks apply only to those with respiratory conditions that make it difficult to cover their mouth and nose, people doing strenuous activities, such as jogging, and children under the age of 2, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control," Gimenez said.

The cities of Miami and Miami Beach, which are also in Miami-Dade, imposed similar requirements in recent days.

"Although the masks haven’t been required in unincorporated areas of the county because there is more open space, I have made the decision to now require facial coverings countywide in an effort to help our hospitals operate with sufficient staffing to care for all patients," the mayor said.

Dr. Glenn Morris, director of the emerging pathogen institute at the University of Florida, appeared on a video with Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber earlier this week to make the medical case for masks.

"It's critically important in closed spaces or crowds, inside stores, inside businesses, but outside as well," the doctor said. "There are times that social distancing is not possible, and wearing a mask outside further reduces the chances of virus transmission."

Morris said face shields alone are not as good as wearing a mask but better than nothing. The doctor said he was not certain the mask order alone would be sufficient to stem the rising tide of new cases though he called it a "critical element."

Mayor Gimenez threatened to roll back some of the openings that have taken place in the county since May. He also said Miami-Dade police would shut down businesses that fail to comply with social distancing rules over the holiday weekend..

"If people continue to flaunt the rules, we will be forced to close nonessential businesses and all other activities that we began opening up in May," Gimenez warned. "Please, follow the rules. Do it for your family, your friends, your community — if not for yourself. This pandemic has no borders and no age limits. It is attacking younger people who are ending up in the hospital."