MIAMI-DADE COUNTY EMERGENCY ORDER 17-20

Canceled per Emergency Order 24-20

WHEREAS, section 252.38(3)(a), Florida Statutes, gives political subdivisions the authority to declare and enact a State of Local Emergency for a period of up to seven days, thereby waiving the procedures and formalities otherwise required of the political subdivision by law; and

WHEREAS, on March 1, 2020, the Governor of Florida issued Executive Order Number 20-51, directing the State Health Officer and Surgeon General to declare a Public Health Emergency due to the discovery of COVID-19/novel Coronavirus in Florida; and

WHEREAS, on March 9, 2020, the Governor issued Executive Order Number 20-52, declaring a State of Emergency for the State of Florida related to COVID-19/novel Coronavirus; and

WHEREAS, on March 12, 2020, the County Mayor declared a State of Emergency for all of Miami-Dade County; and

WHEREAS, on March 30, 2020, the Governor issued Executive Order Number 20-89, restricting the operations of non-essential businesses in certain South Florida counties and requires such establishments to take reasonable actions to comply with the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines on social distancing; and

WHEREAS, on April 1, 2020, the Governor issued Executive Order Number 20-91, which restricts the operations of non-essential businesses throughout the state; and

WHEREAS, COVID-19/novel Coronavirus poses a health risk to Miami-Dade County residents, particularly elderly residents and those who are immunosuppressed or otherwise have high-risk medical conditions; and

WHEREAS, the federal government is urging persons throughout the United States to continue practicing social distancing through April 30, 2020, as recommended by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines; and

WHEREAS, the CDC guidelines for businesses specifically recommends that food sharing be limited, and that businesses stagger customer flow to avoid crowds, in order to avoid spread of COVID-19,

THEREFORE, as County Mayor of Miami-Dade County, I hereby order:

1. In order to ensure compliance with the CDC social distancing requirements, all essential commercial and retail establishments as defined in Emergency Order 07-20 which provide unpackaged food for consumption, including but not limited to those establishments listed in paragraphs (2)(b) and (2)(m) of Emergency Order 07-20, shall: 
   a) limit capacity and monitor entrances and exits to reduce their maximum occupancy load by 50 percent in those areas where food is sold;
   b) close all salad bars and other self-serve food stations with the exception of prepackaged, “grab and go” items; and
   c) not distribute free samples or conduct tastings.
2. All essential businesses are encouraged, subject to availability of necessary sanitizing
   products to: 
   a) provide alcohol-based hand sanitizers for use by customers and employees;
   b) provide disinfecting wipes at points of entrance, cash registers, and/or other appropriate locations, for customers to disinfect carts, shopping baskets, or point of sale terminals, or, alternatively designate staff responsible for disinfecting carts, shopping baskets, point of sale terminals, and other areas as frequently as possible; and
   c) implement procedures for custodial or janitorial staff to sanitize frequent touchpoints throughout the day, including point of sale terminals at registers, conveyor belts, door handles, door plates, shelves, and other appropriate locations.    
3. All essential businesses are encouraged to allow employees to wear masks, gloves, or
       other personal protective equipment.  Persons choosing to use masks are encouraged to
               review and comply with the CDC and Florida Department of Health guidelines on  
               personal protective equipment.
4. This order is supplemental to the requirements of all prior applicable executive orders.    
5. The provisions of this order shall serve as minimum standards. Municipalities may impose
   more stringent standards within their jurisdictions, as permitted by law.'
6. This order shall be effective April 2, 2020, at 11:59 p.m.
7. This order shall expire upon the expiration of the existing Miami-Dade County State of Local Emergency, except that if such State of Local Emergency is extended, this order shall also be deemed to extend for the duration of such extension.  This order may be cancelled earlier by action of the County Mayor.
8. This order shall be provided to all appropriate media consistent with the requirements of section 8B-7(2)(n) of the Code of Miami-Dade County.