Monroe County Joint Information Center Updates

THE FLORIDA KEYS ARE CLOSED TO ALL VISITORS. ALL THOSE ENTERING THE KEYS NEED TO CARRY IDENTIFICATION OR DOCUMENTS PROVING HOMEOWNERSHIP OR RESIDENCY, ESSENTIAL WORK

Coronavirus Cases

The latest update from the State Health Office regarding COVID-19. Monroe County is reporting 63 total cases — 57 are residents, 6 are non-residents.

Among the 63, 22 are travel-related, 24 are community-acquired, and 17 are currently being investigated.

Of the 57 residents, 28 are from Key West, 13 Key Largo, 5 Tavernier, 5 Marathon, and two from Islamorada. Summerland Key  and Key Colony Beach have one case each.  One case is unknown.

7 hospitalized, 3 deaths (reported by the State)

As of April 13, 2020 at 10 a.m. 782 have been tested, of which 117 are awaiting results.

Current case information can be found at https://floridahealthcovid19.gov. It is updated twice daily (morning and evening) On the dashboard, look under “See the Report” for detailed information by county, including testing numbers and geographic locations or “See dashboard” for summaries by county.

The Health Department will officially confirm any other cases. Hospitalizations are a total count of all laboratory confirmed cases in which an inpatient hospitalization occurred at any time during the course of illness. These people may no longer be hospitalized. This number does not represent the number of COVID-19 positive persons currently hospitalized. As of Monday, April 13 at 10 a.m., there is only one person hospitalized in Monroe County.

Less Than 10

On March 24th, Governor DeSantis directed the State Surgeon General and State Health Officer to issue a public health advisory against all social or recreational gatherings of ten or more people. (Part of Executive Order 20-83).

Monroe County Essential Businesses Additional Directives

https://www.monroecounty-fl.gov/DocumentCenter/View/23134/Emergency-Directive-20-05-Additional-PM-April-2020?bidId

Monroe County Emergency Directive 20-05 mandates limiting capacity to 50 percent of maximum occupancy and providing hand sanitizers and disinfecting wipes for use by customers and employees. All employees and customers of grocery stores, pharmacies, food distribution points, hardware stores and other essential businesses where 10 or more people may be present shall be required to wear a form of covering over their nose and mouth at all times. Delivery service workers are required to wear face coverings as well.

Medical and surgical face masks, such as “N95” masks, are in short supply and should be reserved for health care personnel and other first responders with the greatest need for such personal protective equipment. Covering over the nose and mouth may include a face mask, homemade mask, or other cloth covering, such as a scarf, bandana, handkerchief or other similar cloth covering.

The CDC suggests cloth face coverings should:

  • Fit snugly but comfortably against the side of the face
  • Be secured with ties or ear loops
  • Include multiple layers of fabric
  • Allow for breathing without restriction
  • Be able to be laundered and machine dried without damage or change to shape

For more information from the CDC about cloth face coverings, sewn / non-sewn instructions, and shareable PDF versions, please visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/cloth-face-cover.html.

For complaints in reference to essential businesses not following directive 20-05: county or municipality code enforcement department. Local law enforcement is a secondary follow up or on weekends.

Code enforcement will issue a courtesy letter to the property owner and or business. A follow up will take place in order to obtain compliance. For unincorporated Monroe County www.monroecounty-fl.gov: Government> Code Compliance > File a Code Compliance Complaint. Link: https://www.monroecounty-fl.gov/forms.aspx?FID=74

Essential Services Summary

Monroe County cannot provide any further guidance on whether or not a particular business is included. If a business has concerns regarding whether they should be open/closed after reading through the list provided on www.monroecountyem.com/covid19, they should consult their legal counsel or talk with their appropriate association for the business entity.

Governor DeSantis ordered in EO 20-91 that movements outside the home shall be limited to only those necessary to:

  1.  obtain or provide essential services or
  2.  conduct essential activities.

Essential Services are defined in the Governor’s Order as those:

Defined by Homeland Security (Federal)

  • Healthcare
  • Law Enforcement
  • Food & Agriculture
  • Energy
  • Water & Wastewater
  • Transportation & Logistics
  • Public Works
  • Communication & Info Technology
  • Workers to ensure continuity of building functions including security and environmental functions
  • Workers supporting the operation of the judicial system
  • Election personnel both public and private
  • Federal, State & Local “Mission Essential Functions”
  • Trade officials
  • Media
  • Census 2020 Employees
  • Clergy for essential support
  • Weather forecasters
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