Amid the COVID-19 spike in Florida, several South Florida cities have made the wearing of masks mandatory for its residents.
On Monday, the state surpassed 100,000 cases of COVID-19. Mayors of almost a dozen cities in Miami-Dade County immediately announced that they will be requiring people to wear face coverings in public.
“We are going to be implementing a mask-in-public rule,” City of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said. “Everyone will have to be wearing a mask in public.”
The cities participating in the mask mandate include:
- Miami
- North Miami Beach
- Hialeah
- Miami Gardens
- Aventura
- Key Biscayne
- Biscayne Park
- Pinecrest
- West Miami
- Miami Shores
- El Portal
Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez said he will consider with medical professionals Tuesday whether the rules for face coverings need to expand elsewhere in the county as well.
“Wearing masks outdoors in congested cities like Miami, North Miami Beach, Aventura, Hialeah and Miami Gardens is a good idea,” Gimenez said in a statement. “I commend the mayors of those cities for making that a requirement. I will be meeting with the county’s medical experts tomorrow to discuss whether the use of masks in less congested unincorporated areas of the County is necessary.”
Florida reported record-setting totals of new cases on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and South Florida remains the epicenter.
Miami-Dade County, in particular, is responsible for 26,239 of the state’s 100,217 confirmed cases as of Monday.
