Miami-Dade County, Florida, will close all of its beaches from July 3 through July 7 amid an outbreak of COVID-19 in the Sunshine State, Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez announced on Friday.
The closures are for beaches in all cities and unincorporated areas of Miami-Dade. Gimenez said the closures could extend beyond July 7 if need be.
Florida has seen a sudden surge of coronavirus cases this week, prompting the state to prohibit bars from serving alcohol on site.
Gimenez said firework shows can still go on during the Fourth of July weekend, but must be viewed away from the beach.
“Everyone should wear masks inside public establishments and outside if they cannot practice social distancing of at least 6 feet,” Gimenez said in a statement. “I have been seeing too many businesses and people ignoring these lifesaving rules. If people are not going to be responsible and protect themselves and others from this pandemic, then the government is forced to step in and restore common sense to save lives.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis closed the state’s beaches in late March, after images of packed beaches over the Spring Break period went viral. Beaches reopened throughout the state last month as coronavirus cases seemingly leveled off both in Florida and nationally.
On Friday, Johns Hopkins University said that nearly there have been 40,000 new coronavirus cases, marking the most in the US since the pandemic began.