Gyms will remain open and outdoor dining will be allowed at Miami-Dade

DORAL, FL – On Monday, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez announced he will be signing an order closing several venues including gyms and fitness studios, as well as restaurants. Today, things look a little bit different.

“I had a very productive virtual meeting just now with our medical experts and the County’s Wellness Group. We arrived at a compromise to keep gyms & fitness studios open. All doing activities inside must wear a mask or do strenuous training outside staying 10 feet apart w/outmask,” twitted the Mayor Tuesday morning. 

He also made a change regarding the opening of restaurants. On Monday night, the decision was to allow outdoor dining  “with restrictions that include tables of no more than four patrons, appropriate distancing, and music played at a level that does not require shouting, to prevent the emission of potentially dangerous airborne droplets.”

This means, only outdoor dining, takeout and delivery will be allowed at Miami-Dade starting on 12:01 a.m., Thursday, July 9. If you want to go to the gym or a fitness studio, you can do so as long as you wear a face covering at all times. 

The decision was received among restaurant owners with concern, since now many will have to develop a new business strategy to stay afloat or offer additional services. 

In an interview with Local 10 News, Mateo Panderni of Sapore di Mare in Miami said he had to create a mini-market offering fresh dishes and bottles of wine to go to survive the new scenario.

“This is the price we pay. It is the right decision but bad news for all my employees… I hope now that we are learning from our mistakes,” said Pandermi.

Pandermi is talking about mistakes such as not wearing face masks when in public, which has led the county, among other things, to make several decisions including following a 10 p.m. – 6 a.m. curfew that it’s still in place and closing many entertainment venues in an effort to tame the spread. 

Beaches, however, reopened Tuesday after being closed for the holiday weekend. It should be noted that they could close back again if people doesn’t follow rules such as not gathering in big groups or not social distancing whenever it’s possible.

Following public safety rules seems crucial to reverse the concerning COVID-19 statistics the state now has according to many leaders. Miami-Dade County confirmed 1,981 new cases Monday and eight resident deaths. The county has the most cases (48,992) and deaths (1,051) in Florida, as reported by Local 10 News.

To know what’s closed and what remains open, please read Gimenez full announcement here.