As beaches reopened in Broward, officials said Monday that the county is considering closing gyms and ending short-term rentals again as coronavirus cases continue to surge.
"There’s a lot of moving parts at this point in time," Mayor Dale Holness said. "What we do know is that we’ve seen a tremendous increase in the number of people testing positive, and it’s not just because we are doing more tests. It’s because there are more people out there spreading the virus.”
Holness added that the county is also considering getting tougher on residents who are holding house parties.
Nothing is set in stone, but an emergency order with more details could come down Tuesday.
This comes after Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez announced the re-closure of restaurants, gyms, ballrooms and banquet halls starting Wednesday.
Dining rooms in restaurants in Broward remain open, but Holness said they could consider changing their hours and enforcing stiffer fines for those businesses that don’t follow social distancing and mask rules. He said 51% of complaints to 311 come from establishments not following safety guidelines.
There were 21,856 confirmed cases, along with 414 deaths as of Monday in Broward County, the state's health department reported.
Florida added more than 6,300 new coronavirus cases Monday, as the state's virus-related death toll rose by nearly 50. The 6,336 new COVID-19 cases brought the state's total to 206,447.
