FILE – This undated electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in February 2020 shows the Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus causes COVID-19. The sample was isolated from a patient in the U.S. On Tuesday, April 21, 2020, U.S. health regulators OK’d the first coronavirus test that allows people to collect their own sample at home, a new approach that could help expand testing options in most states. The sample will still have to be shipped for processing back to LabCorp, which operates diagnostic labs throughout the U.S. (NIAID-RML via AP)
MIAMI (WFLA) – Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez announced Thursday that he is issuing a 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. countywide curfew that will take effect on Friday, July 3rd until further notice.
Under the new order only essential workers, including first responders, hospital workers, food delivery services and media personnel are exempt.
Gimenez said that the curfew is meant to stop people from “venturing out and hanging out with friends in groups, which has shown to be spreading the virus rapidly.”
The mayor will also be rolling back the reopening of entertainment facilities, such as movie theaters, arcades, casinos (with the exception of tribal casinos, over which the County does not have jurisdiction), adult entertainment, concert houses, bowling alleys and other establishments that have recently had their plans approved by the County.
The orders are expected to both be signed tonight.
Gimenez added Miami-Dade County Police will be “checking out” businesses and restaurants throughout the Fourth of July weekend to ensure that they are following regulations. Those who are found violating any rules are subject to criminal fines up to $500 and up to 180 days in jail.
“I do not want to go back to closing all but essential businesses, but the only way to avoid that is for everyone to take COVID-19 seriously,” the mayor added. “That means every generation – everyone of us, no exceptions.”
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