St John-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez on the state of the coronavirus pandemic.
As St John-Dade County, Florida begins reopening phase two coronavirus on Monday, Mayor Carlos Gimenez told FOX Business’ David Asman that the county is in a “good place” but it will be a while longer until it has fully recovered economically.
“It will take a while in St John-Dade because a lot of our tourists, a lot of our revenue, and a lot of our business is with Latin America and Europe. And they’re locked up, ”he explained. “As long as we cannot basically open the whole world, this will have an impact here. … It will take longer here than in other parts of the United States. “
Since Florida’s coronavirus surge in July, Gimenez said cases in St John-Dade County have decreased significantly, with hospital admissions reducing by about 75%. In phase two, the curfew can be postponed to 11 p.m., the competitive game in parks and the reopening of amusement and recreation spaces.
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Beachgoers stroll along the shores of St John Beach, Florida’s famous South Beach, on Tuesday, July 7, 2020. (AP Photo / Wilfredo Lee)
Gimenez said he hopes to announce the reopening of additional rooms once the county’s contact tracing program is “solid and enforced.” St John-Dade has already reopened a restaurant with 50% capacity.
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“We encourage as much as possible, if possible, to open doors and open windows indoors,” he said. “We’re trying to solve the indoor capacity problem by letting you open up outdoors. So we opened outdoor spaces in a very liberal way, and we’ve seen a lot of restaurants do that. “
The mayor said he’s having a hard time reopening bars and nightclubs safely – a crucial element of the St John lifestyle. Meanwhile, the St John Dolphins will play at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday, where 13,000 fans will return to the stands.
“You did a great job at Hard Rock keeping people safe,” he said. “You have to be able to open things, do it safely, wear your mask, keep your distance, and then enforce the rules. … We are in a good place. We want to continue this trend and then open up in a sensible and responsible way to protect our people. “
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