By Otto Rodríguez
MiamiDadeHealth.com
Miami-Dade Mayor, Carlos Gimenez, declared a state of emergency in the county to deal with growing concerns over coronavirus after more people have tested positive for the virus, including Francis Suarez, mayor of the City of Miami.
Suarez said he is isolating himself after testing positive for COVID-19. He was near the Brazilian President, Jair Bolsonaro and his staff earlier this week. On March 12, Bolsonaro’s press secretary also tested positive.
The first case in Miami-Dade was that of a 56-year-old man who had a travel history, according to the Florida Department of Health. The man was being kept in isolation, health officials added. Local authorities have not revealed more details about a second case announced Friday morning.
At a press conference held Thursday, together with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Gimenez said that “Miami-Dade County is an international hub for trade and tourism, so it’s especially important for our community to add extra layers of protection against this virus.”
The emergency declaration allows the local government to react faster to any potential issues derived from the spread of the virus in South Florida.
In a tweet the same day, Gimenez said “Although we don’t have community spread cases of COVID-19 at this time, we want to take the preemptive steps to keep it that way. That’s why I’m canceling several public events, including the Miami Youth Fair,” a large event held every year that attracts hundreds of thousands of people.
The announcement occurred just a day after a wide range of closures were announced affecting sports, entertainment and political events and even primary elections all over the United States. In Florida, colleges and schools announced they were either moving classes to an online format or closing temporarily.
Among the most significant, Disney and Universal Studios announced the closing of theme parks in Florida, which will have an enormous impact on the State’s economy. The NBA suspended the regular season for the foreseeable future, and MLB postponed for two weeks Opening Day, set initially for March 26th.
