Health & Fitness

Miami, Fort Lauderdale Restaurants, Salons Get OK To Reopen

FL Gov. Ron DeSantis gave the OK for restaurants, hair salons and nail salons in Miami-Dade and Broward County to begin reopening next week.

Paul Scicchitano's profile picture
Paul Scicchitano, Patch StaffVerified Patch Staff Badge
|
Restaurants in Miami-Dade and Broward have been given the OK to begin reopening next week, but not all will reopen at the same time.
Restaurants in Miami-Dade and Broward have been given the OK to begin reopening next week, but not all will reopen at the same time. (Photo by Paul Scicchitano)

DORAL, FL — With parts of Florida already back in business, Gov. Ron DeSantis gave the OK Thursday for nonessential businesses like restaurants, hair salons and nail salons in the state's two most populous counties — Miami-Dade and Broward — to begin reopening on Monday amid social distancing and occupancy restrictions.

Beaches in both counties will remain closed for the time being. The mayors of both counties promised to coordinate the reopening of beaches, but probably not before May 26 at the earliest. Bars and movie theaters will also be excluded from the reopening as they have been for the rest of the state.

“The trends have been positive. The work has been effective and so moving Miami-Dade to phase one complies with the criteria that were set out by the White House, but also is the sensible thing to do given the progress that’s been made," DeSantis said. "I think the story is similar in Broward County. Influenza and COVID-like illnesses have been both on a downward trajectory really since March."

Find out what's happening in Miamifor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Not all businesses will reopen at the same time with some local communities opting to wait until later in the month. Commercial gyms and hotels will remain closed for the time being but DeSantis said he planned to make a statewide announcement regarding gyms on Friday.

The partial reopening for Miami-Dade and Broward comes as a lifeline for thousands of restaurant and service workers who have had their livelihoods — and their lives — put on hold by the global pandemic. Many have struggled to apply for unemployment and have turned to food giveaways as a means to sustain themselves through the lockdown.

Find out what's happening in Miamifor free with the latest updates from Patch.

At one point during the health crisis, Miami-Dade reported as many as 500 cases per day or more, the governor said. He pointed to decreases in the number of new cases, a reduction in the number of patients in ICU beds and a reduction of the very sickest patients on ventilators in both counties to support the partial reopening.

"Dade and Broward both submitted plans that I’ve approved," DeSantis said. "They don’t have identical approaches in every respect and I think that makes sense." One key difference is that Broward County plans to allow gyms and pools to reopen in condominiums and private residential communities while Miami-Dade has not yet taken that step.

Neither Miami-Dade, which includes Miami and Miami Beach, or Broward, which includes Fort Lauderdale, have faced a shortage of hospital beds. They continue to be the hardest hit of all of Florida's 67 counties by the new coronavirus with 14,742 and 6,057 confirmed cases respectively as of Thursday.

Palm Beach County, which includes West Palm Beach and Palm Beach, partially reopened nonessential businesses Monday while continuing to have the third most cases in the state with 4,278 as of Thursday.

Don't miss updates about precautions in Florida as they are announced. Sign up for Patch news alerts and newsletters.

Under the governor's reopening plan, elective medical procedures have already resumed statewide.

Unlike other areas of the state, Miami-Dade and Broward requested permission to open restaurants and retail establishments at 50 percent capacity with masks and social distancing requirements in place.

The governor granted that request, according to a spokesperson for Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez.

Restaurants in most of the state have been able to reopen indoor seating at up to 25 percent of capacity with social distancing. Retail businesses that were not deemed essential businesses have also been able to reopen at 25 percent capacity.

Gimenez said prior to the governor's announcement local communities are free to impose more restrictive requirements.

"I know that the cities of Miami and Miami Beach want to open up two days later, and then their restaurants another week after that," Gimenez told reporters. "That’s going to be the confusion."

Related:

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

More from Miami