What to Know
- Monroe County beaches will close at 5 p.m. Thursday and reopen during normal hours on Tuesday, July 7th.
- Broward County beaches will also be closed Fourth of July weekend over coronavirus concerns
- On Friday, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez signed an emergency order closing beaches starting Friday, July 3 and ending Tuesday, July 7.
Beaches across South Florida will be closed during the Fourth of July weekend due to concerns of the coronavirus.
On Monday, Monroe County became the latest one to say no guests will be allowed during the upcoming weekend. County officials said beaches would close at 5 p.m. Thursday and reopen during normal hours on Tuesday, July 7th.
At a news conference on Sunday, Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis, along with Hallandale Beach Mayor Joy F. Cooper and Lauderdale By the Sea Mayor Christopher Vincent, announced beaches would be closed starting Friday, July 3rd and ending Sunday, July 5th.
At a news conference Monday morning, Broward Mayor Dale Holness said it was necessary to close the beaches amid an increase in COVID-19 cases.
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"It is alarming and we have to do everything we can to protect ourselves and our community and our economy," Holness said.
At Sunday's news conference, over a chorus of jeers, Trantalis said the decision was made out of concerns over social distancing and the coronavirus.
"We feel we will not be able to provide the necessary safe environment everyone is entitled to enjoy when they come to our beaches," Trantalis said.
Florida has been seeing big jumps in its daily coronavirus update, with a record-breaking 9,585 cases reported on Saturday.
A crowd that attended Sunday's announcement could be heard shouting for freedom and calling the mayors socialists.
Before ending the press conference early due to the crowd, Trantalis added that Miami-Dade's decision to close its beaches last week also helped in making the decision.
On Friday, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez signed an emergency order closing beaches starting Friday, July 3 and ending Tuesday, July 7.
"We were not quite sure what we were going to do for our Fourth of July weekend," Trantalis said. "So, when Miami-Dade made the decision, it was incumbent upon us to realize that the influx of visitors that would otherwise go to Miami-Dade would ultimately come north."
As of Sunday's update, Florida has a reported total of 141,075 coronavirus cases for the state. The death toll has reached 3,419.
