Palm Beach County looks at reopening before rest of region
A coordinated reopening effort among South Florida’s counties began to show cracks Tuesday when Palm Beach County commissioners argued that the county should open more quickly — starting with the beaches.
The county plans to ask Gov. Ron DeSantis for permission to join the rest of the state, outside South Florida, in a partial reopening from coronavirus restrictions, allowing restaurants and many other businesses to operate at 25% capacity.
The move would break from plans for Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties to coordinate their reopening plans to ensure that one county doesn’t get overwhelmed with visitors from another.
Palm Beach County Commissioner Hal Valeche requested Tuesday that his county “disassociate” from Broward and MiamiDade, saying the “one size-fits-all” approach is slowing the county’s
economic recovery.
“We’re way behind the curve,” he said.
DeSantis last week allowed Florida’s 64 other counties to reopen partially this week, but he said South Florida would have to wait because COVID-19 cases are concentrated here.
Palm Beach County has a much higher rate of cases and deaths than Florida as a whole but a somewhat lower rate than Broward and a much lower rate than Miami-Dade.
For every 100,000 residents, Palm Beach County has 226.6 cases; Broward has 281.4; and Miami-Dade has 479.0. Florida, as a whole, has 174.3 cases per 100,000 residents.
Palm Beach County’s death rate is higher than Broward’s. The county’s large number of seniors, the age group most at risk for serious illness caused by coronavirus, is likely a contributing factor.
For every 100,000 residents, Palm Beach County has 13.7 deaths; MiamiDade has 14.7; and Broward has 11. Statewide, Florida has 6.9 cases per 100,000 residents.
South Florida accounts for 59% of Florida’s cases and 56% of coronavirus deaths, despite having 29% of the state’s population.
Nevertheless, the Palm Beach County commission voted 6-0 on Tuesday to draft a letter to DeSantis asking for the county to be included in the Phase 1 reopening granted to most of the state.
Commissioners also agreed to have a special meeting Friday to discuss opening the county’s beaches.
Most of Florida began reopening beaches, restaurants and some other businesses on Monday, after DeSantis’ order last week.
Parks, golf courses and marinas in all three South Florida counties reopened last Wednesday.
“I think we have to recognize that our residents can be responsible,” Commissioner Robert Weinroth said Tuesday. “We’ve allowed them to do other essential activities responsibly.”
Not everyone agrees. Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez said Tuesday he thought beaches shouldn’t reopen too soon because people have shown they’re not willing to comply with social distancing guidelines.
“If we all act responsibly we can open up much quicker — if we all act responsibly, and that’s the issue,” Gimenez said on WIOD-AM 610.
“I don’t want to act like this, and I don’t want to be a like a big daddy to anybody, but look, we just act the right way, follow the rules, then a lot more things can be opened. If everybody followed the rules we could open up the beach tomorrow — if everybody followed the rules,” Gimenez said.
“But we know that there’s going to be a whole bunch of people who aren’t going to follow the rules,” he said.
Gimenez “still believes that a regional approach is the best way to handle reopening,” spokeswoman Patty Abril wrote in an email. “However, the mayor respects the autonomy of the Palm Beach County government to act as it sees fit for its residents.”
Broward Mayor Dale Holness said it is still too early to begin large-scale reopening in South Florida.
“I believe we need to have consensus,” he said in a phone interview. “Now that we’ve got the virus in retreat, so to speak, in terms of the viral transmission, we still need to practice the social distancing and those protocols that were put in place.”
Palm Beach County Mayor Dave Kerner has been working with commissioners and staff to coordinate the county’s reopening. Working groups are discussing how to restart tourism and hotels, retail and small businesses, education, health care, agriculture and transportation, Palm Beach County Administrator Verdenia Baker said.
The reopening effort will be gradual and based on data that shows a reduction in new cases in the county, Baker said.
Valeche said he was not concerned with people from Broward or MiamiDade coming to Palm Beach County if it opened first.
“If we’re controlling the capacity … we don’t need to worry about where people come from,” he said.
Weinroth recalled being forced to play with friends who had the chickenpox as a kid to intentionally contract the illness and then become immune.
He asked Dr. Alina Alonso, Florida Department of Health Palm Beach director, if leaders were being overcautious.
Alonso encouraged caution.
“We flattened the curve because we put in the social distancing right when it could have been bad,” Alonso said. “This is not a matter of ripping the BandAid off and everything will be fine, because then the cases will go back up.”