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When speaking on Wednesday afternoon about Miami-Dade County's recent spike in new coronavirus cases, County Mayor Carlos Gimenez said, "Some people getting a little too comfortable about not wearing masks when they visit stores and restaurants."
On June 16, Florida reported 2,783 newly confirmed cases of coronavirus, its highest ever daily toll of new cases since it began reporting them on March 14. Overall, 21,162
cases and 822 deaths have come from Miami-Dade County alone.
Gimenez said he was willing to shut down local businesses once more if they didn't start enforcing county requirements for all employees and customers to wear face masks, according to the Miami Herald. He also publicly wondered if the recent protests against police violence contributed to the recent rise in cases.
"We expected to see an increase as we started to open up the economy, and we had more testing going on," Gimenez said. "However, we were not counting on protests the last three weeks, which likely have contributed somewhat to the uptick."
Newsweek reached out to Gimenez's office for further information. This story will be updated with any response.
On June 5, Florida began the second phase of its reopening, allowing bars, taverns and pubs to operate at 50 percent capacity in every Florida county except for Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. Local officials in these counties issued their own reopening timelines.
Miami-Dade, the county worst-hit in the state, was one of the last counties along with Broward to begin phase one of reopening after the rest of Florida began on May 18. Restaurants, bars, retailers, gyms, personal care services, places of worship, entertainment venues and beaches have resumed operations throughout the state.
While Miami-Dade's reopening plan requires public businesses to have all employees and customers use facial coverings, it also requires many additional measures.
Businesses are required to display informational signage about how to prevent COVID-19 transmission, use markings to keep people six feet apart, install plexiglass in front of customer-contact workstations, provide hand sanitizing stations, regularly disinfect all areas, use gloves for all cleaners and food-handlers and generally discourage people congregating or sitting close to one another.
Dr. Aileen Marty, an infectious disease specialist at Florida International University, told Newsweek that she non-masked racial justice protesters and lax public adherence to reopening guidelines could both contribute to a spike in new cases.
"A significant percent of the population is not adhering to the guidelines of how to interact safely. This includes employers, employees and patrons," she said.
A handful of bars in Jacksonville and Altamonte Springs temporarily closed again last week after customers tested positive for the coronavirus.
