Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez signs Executive Order to limit capacity in food businesses and close self-serve food bars

Expanding efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez signed Executive Order 17-20 for essential businesses to limit capacity in food sales areas, to urge the provision of sanitizing products, and to encourage employee use of masks, gloves or other personal protective equipment.

This order goes into effect at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, April 2, 2020.

To ensure compliance with social distancing requirements established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, all essential commercial and retail establishments that provide unpackaged food for consumption must:

• limit capacity to 50 percent in areas where food is sold while also monitoring entrances and exits for compliance
• close all salad bars and self-serve food stations, except for prepackaged, “grab and go” items
• not distribute free samples or conduct tastings

All essential businesses are encouraged to: 

• provide alcohol-based hand sanitizers for use by customers and employees
• provide disinfecting wipes at contact points or designate staff to disinfect frequently touched surfaces
• implement procedures for staff to sanitize frequent touchpoints throughout the day
• allow employees to wear masks, gloves, or other personal protective equipment and encourage them to review and comply with the CDC and Florida Department of Health guidelines

This executive order will help ensure the health and safety of those most at risk of contracting COVID-19, including seniors and those with pre-existing health conditions, such as heart, lung and respiratory diseases, diabetes and cancer. It will also help reduce the spread of the virus from asymptomatic carriers.

For the most recent updates on the situation, go to miamidade.gov/coronavirus.