Miami to close beaches for July 4 weekend
Given the spike of COVID-19 cases in the state of Florida, Miami-Dade County is to close its beaches for the July 4 weekend and gatherings of 50 or more people will be banned over concerns of the pandemic and social distancing. On Friday, Miami-Dade County Mayor, Carlos Gimenez, announced he would be signing an emergency order to close beaches starting Friday, July 3, and ending Tuesday, July 7. He said in a statement, “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.”
ICE to free detained immigrant children
On Friday, June 26, U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee of California ordered that all children currently being held in the custody of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for more than 20 days to be released by July 17. According to NPR, “As of Thursday, at least 11 people at a family detention center in Karnes City, TX, have been diagnosed with COVID-19.” Meanwhile, Gee states, “Although progress has been made, the Court is not surprised that [COVID-19] has arrived at both the [Family Residential Centers] and [Office of Refugee Resettlement] facilities, as health professionals have warned all along.”
State of Florida suspends alcohol consumption at bars
With the Florida Department of Health having reported 8,942 new coronavirus cases on Friday, the state has banned the consumption of alcohol at bars in an effort to slow the spread of the COVID-19. Also announced Friday on Twitter, Halsey Beshears, the secretary of the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, “Effective immediately, the Department of Business and Professional Regulation is suspending on premises consumption of alcohol at bars statewide.” As of now, Gov. Ron De Santis has not signed on this order.
Broward County to penalize businesses not following reopening guidelines
With COVID-19 cases continuing to rise, Broward County established a new Order, effective Friday, June 26, stating, “Establishments cited for operating in violation of any County Emergency Order shall immediately close for a minimum 24-hour period.” As some establishments have failed to comply with Emergency Orders mandating sanitization, social distancing, facial coverings and other requirements intended to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, they may be facing fines that start at $500, but can increase to $15,000 for businesses that repeatedly fail to follow guidelines.
City of Plantation to be renamed
With the ongoing #BlackLivesMatter demonstrations and recent removals of colonizer statues across the world, Plantation resident Dharyl Auguste created an online petition calling on Gov. Ron DeSantis and city leaders to change the city name. As schools and universities across the country think about renaming buildings and schools themselves, five Broward County public schools with the world “Plantation” in the name may be changed as well.
