LTC 464-2020 Miami-Dade County Update on COVID-19 Measures and EnforcementDocuSign Envelope ID: 9EED2469-86AA-47CB-9B06-5441965FC7D1
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OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
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464-2020 LETTER TO COMMISSION
Mayor Dan Gelber and Members of the City Commission
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December 21, 2020
Miami-Dade County Update on COVID-19 Measures and Enforcement
On December 17, 2020, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava hosted a conference
call with representatives of municipalities across the County to discuss best practices in promoting
compliance with the County's Emergency Orders and related guidelines issued in response to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
The purpose of this Letter to Commission is to advise you of the highlights of the call, as they
apply to Miami Beach, as well as provide a copy of the attached Miami-Dade County Guide to
COVID-19 Policies for Cities, prepared by the County Attorney's Office (Exhibit A).
• Mayor Levine Cava and Miami-Dade Police Director Freddy Ramirez emphasized the
importance of uniformity and consistency in local enforcement of the County's Emergency
Orders. Consistent enforcement builds public trust, and promotes greater compliance with
the County's facial covering and social distancing requirements.
• The County Attorney's Office has opined that citations may be issued to individuals for
violations of Emergency Orders. However, given that Executive Order 20-244 of the
Florida Governor suspended "the collection of fines and penalties associated with COVID-
19 enforced upon individuals," fines against individuals are tolled while EO 20-244 remains
in effect. EO 20-244 immediately impacted the City's ability to issue citations, civil fines,
and penalties to individuals, including, by way of example, for failure to wear a facial
covering. Importantly, the County Attorney's Office has also opined that there is no
restriction on the issuance of citations, civil fines, or penalties to businesses or other
non-individuals for violations of duly issued Emergency Orders.
• The nightly curfew is one of the strongest enforcement tools available to mitigate the public
health risks associated with "superspreader" events (e.g., gatherings at bars, late-night
restaurants, and adult entertainment establishments). The County's nightly 12:00 a.m.
curfew remains in effect, with the sole exception that Mayor Levine Cava has issued an
Emergency Order amending the curfew for Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. On
Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, the curfew will commence one hour later, i.e. at 1:00
a.m. on December 25th and at 1 :00 a.m. on January 1st. I am amending the City's
Emergency Order to be consistent with the County Order.
• Miami-Dade Fire Chief Alan Cominsky advised that, in areas of the County where the
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department provides fire service, compliance with COVI D-19
regulations has been incorporated into annual fire inspections.
DocuSign Envelope ID: 9EED2469-86AA-47CB-9B06-5441965FC7D1
December 21, 2020
Miami-Dade County Update on OVID-19 Measures and Enforcement
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• Private gatherings with individuals outside of a household are still strongly discouraged.
Private gatherings in commercial establishments, as well as residential properties that are
used for commercial purposes (e.g., short-term rentals or party rentals), are subject to
occupancy and other social distancing restrictions. Whether a gathering is occurring in
a private residence, commercial establishment, or any other property, such
gatherings would still be subject to enforcement under the City's Noise Ordinance
and any other applicable City or County Code provisions, including the Land
Development Regulations.
I encourage you to review and keep a copy of the attached Guide to COVID-19 Policies for Cities,
which is a helpful "cheat sheet" outlining the County's current COVID-19 requirements and
guidelines.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
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DocuSign Envelope ID: 9EED2469-86A4A4-47CB-9B06-5441965FC7D1 _..
Miami-Dade County Guide to COVID-19 Policies for Cities
Businesses
1. Mask use is required, except for people actively eating or drinking, or of people with medical
conditions which prevent mask use.' People may only remove their masks to eat and drink while
seated.'
2. Capacity of non-restaurants is fifty percent of fire rated capacity, including employees,3
Additionally, within an establishment, there can be no more than ten people in a group, For ex.,, if
a supermarket had a capacity of 100 people, no more than 50 could be inside, and there could not
be a group of 12 by the deli counter. If people are socially distant, they are not a group; i.e., if there
are 12 individuals in line at the deli counter, but each six feet apart, they are not a group,
3. Capacity of restaurants may be up to 100%, if that can be achieved with tables six feet apart and if
table capacity is six or less (except that up to ten members of the same household can sit at a
table).°
4. Music must be 90 decibels or lower, Entertainers must be ten feet away from patrons at all times, 5
5. Mask usage and social distancing is mandatory on dance floors."
6. Establishments are required to post CDC signage in public locations emphasizing measures to
"Stop the Spread" and to exercise social responsibility.'
7. Establishments are required to use reasonable efforts to ensure that on-site customers, employees,
contractors, and vendors maintain appropriate social distancing, as recommended by the current
CDC guidelines, which may include, but are not limited to, marking floors at appropriate intervals or
providing other visible systems to identify the appropriate social distance.
8. Establishments must place trash containers for facial coverings and other personal protective
equipment near exits, entrances, and other common areas.?
1 See Emergency Order 20-20. There are additional exemptions contained in that order as well,
See New Normal Guidebook at p. 30.
3 See New Normal Guidebook at p. 14.
4 See Emergency Order 30-20.
·See New Normal Guidebook at p. 30
6 See New Normal Guidebook at p. 30.
7 See Emergency Order 30-20.
" See Emergency Order 30-20.
9 See Emergency Order 30-20.
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9. Establishments must comprehensively clean establishments each night, including thoroughly
disinfecting all frequent touch points and emptying all trash receptacles using solid waste bags that
are double-bagged and securely sealed."
10. No more than 10 people may gather at any AirBnB or similar short term rental.'
Public Spaces
11. Groups of more than ten people cannot congregate on a street or sidewalk, or in a park.'
Individuals who are socially distant are not a group.
Boating
12. There are restrictions on the number of people who may be on a boat based on boat size.13 Rafting
of boats is not permitted, and boats are to remain fifty feet apart.14
Curfew
13. There is a curfew in place from midnight until six in the morning. Persons going to or from work at
an essential busines, or making deliveries from essential businesses, are exempt from the curfew, as
are people attending religious services, police, fire rescue, first responder, medical, health care,
media, and utility repair service personnel.15
Enforcement Guidelines
• A business that does not comply with any County emergency order may be issued one or more
civil citations. There are no restrictions on the ability of the County to cite or collect penalties
from a business or other establishment.
• A business that is not in compliance with any County emergency order may be required to shut
down until it can come into compliance with such rule. Note that this time period is dependent
on the nature of the non-compliance.
• Individuals who are not in compliance with any County emergency order may be issued a civil
citation or a charged with a criminal misdemeanor. However, penalties or fines cannot be
collected from such persons at this time, and collection would have to be tolled.
"0 See Emergency Order 30-20.
11 See Emergency Order 30-20. Additionally, note that existing state laws regarding noise and underage drinking may be enforced against any
property where applicable.
12 See Emergency Order 10-20.
13 See Emergency Order 29-20.
+ See Emergency Order 08-20, 29-20.
15 See Emergency Order 27-20. There are certain additional exemptions to the curfew listed in that order, which also contains the list of essential
businesses.