FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — In the wake of more than 10,000 new coronavirus cases in the past week, Broward County in Florida implemented new restrictions and a nightly curfew.
The new restrictions, which go into effect Friday night and will last at least through Aug. 1, were issued in an emergency order by Broward County Administrator Bertha Henry, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
The curfew will be in effect nightly from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m., the newspaper reported. Persons will not be allowed to “make use of any street or sidewalk” in the county, and gatherings of more than 10 people will be prohibited.
After seeing more than 10,000 new novel coronavirus cases in the last week, Broward County has implemented new restrictions and a curfew that will last until August. https://t.co/VnARdiBpLc
— Miami Herald (@MiamiHerald) July 17, 2020
“I’m imploring the public to take responsibility -- personal responsibility -- to safeguard the health and well-being of each other,” Broward County Mayor Dale Holness said at a news conference.
It is the second time Broward County has enacted a nighttime curfew in recent weeks. The first was put in place for three days in June after protests were being held nationwide over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
Since July 10, Broward County has reported 10,208 new positive cases, according to data from the Florida Department of Health. County officials said over the past week, positivity rates have been as high as 16.58% and hospitals are near or exceeding intensive care unit bed capacity, the Miami Herald reported.
“We are running out of [hospital] bed space because all of these stupid people who insist it’s nothing worse than the flu are wrong,” Broward County Vice Mayor Steve Geller said Thursday. The flu doesn’t fill our intensive-care units.”
Miami-Dade County has been under a 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew for two weeks, WPLG reported.
Health officials said Broward County’s COVID-19 cases jumped by 1,347 to 36,913 overall, and 13 deaths raised the toll in the county to 477 since the beginning of the pandemic, according to WPLG.
Violators in Broward County could face criminal and civil penalties, the Sun-Sentinel reported. Fines up to $500 and six months in jail could be levied, the newspaper reported.
Cox Media Group
