County’s June 1 opening announcement comes as Florida cases hit 30k mark

BY TERRY SCHMIDA

KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER

Close of business Friday capped a week during which County Mayor Heather Carruthers announced that Monroe would officially begin opening on June 1, even as Florida prepared to pass a grim milestone: Thirty-thousand infections as of midday Friday.

And as of 9 p.m. on April 25 3 people had died in Monroe County, and 77 cases have been confirmed.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that things could be worse. With the third highest population in the U.S. the Sunshine State ranks below six other states, though factors such as the availability of testing regimens render that statistic somewhat incomplete.

And it’s not a statistic that reassures people like Key West Dr. John Norris, whose days lately have blurred into nights, as he handles inquiries at Lower Keys Medical Center, and makes known his preference for a cautious approach.

“We’re in unknown territory, and it makes sense to go slow with [opening the county,]” he said on a weary break between patients earlier this week. Monore County Health Administrator, Bob Eadie, has said much the same thing recently, both in private, and in phone calls with local and state political leaders, from whom he has requested more assistance with testing kits.

Beginning on June 1 businesses will begin opening slowly, in a fashion somewhat akin to coming back from a hurricane.

Also on April 24 the state Department of Health PIO, Brandie Peretz, announced a daily email briefing, noting that “while Florida’s testing continues to increase, the percent of those testing positive for Covid-19 overall has decreased from 10 percent to 9 percent . . . Of the 15,579 tests performed on April 24, there were 1,331 positive results.”

For some people, however, the opening can’t come soon enough.

Exercise enthusiast Audrey Samz, known around town as Super Girl after her former delivery service, is questioning why her gym can’t open, while people can still “crawl” Duval, buying drinks from bar service windows, and in one case, even hang out at the rear pool area of a well-known Duval Sreet bar–if they sign a waiver and promise to practice local distancing.

“That’s ridiculous,” said Samz, who claimed to have said as much to Mayor Teri Johnston in an email. “[The gym owner] would open today if he could, and I’d be willing to sign a waiver, like I hear they’re doing on Duval Street. Ultimately everybody is responsible for themselves, with tobacco, alcohol, and lots of other daily decisions we make. Let me make this one.”

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