Palm Beach stands out with virus rules

Here’s why Palm Beach often takes a different approach

The town of Palm Beach — often in the news with President Trump’s visits to his Mar-a-Lago club — has been drawing attention lately for another reason: The town routinely jumps ahead of the county’s other communities with its COVID-19 measures.

The town became the very first in the county to institute a curfew back in mid-March. During the Labor Day weekend, Palm Beach was the only county municipality to close its beaches. And in recent days, the town council voted to re-institute a curfew, making it once again the only one to do so in Palm Beach County.

Why has the town gone about things differently?

Part of the equation for Palm Beach, home to many billionaires, is its age demographics, which skew older. With an average age of 68, much of the town’s population of 8,800 falls into a higher-risk category for COVID-related illnesses. While COVID-19 restrictions have been an intensely polarizing issue across the country, Palm Beach Town Manager Kirk Blouin said there’s been “overwhelming support” for the town’s actions.

“We’re cognizant of government overstepping or potentially intruding on someone’s constitutional rights,” Blouin said. “But I think the community was supportive of these measures we put in place.”

Blouin added that the town’s small population fosters a “sense of community that I don’t see in other cities.” While Palm Beach has a yearly population of 8,800, B lou in said that number can climb to 30,000 during the winter when seasonal residents make their way back to South Florida.

Another element in the town’s decision-making has been about “sending a message.” During the Dec. 8 meeting when the curfew was reinstated, council member Lew Crampton bemoaned that some people are “not willing to act responsible” and the town “should do something to raise awareness and to keep people on their toes.”

“I’m sure it won’t make a major difference, but will be a sign of our resolve,” Crampton said. “It will create awareness and it is only going back to what we were doing before, which was perceived by many I think as a successful event.”

The town doesn’t plan on enforcing fines, however. Police spokesman Michael Ogrodnick said police officers will take an educational approach in informing residents of the curfew.

“If we can avoid that [COVID19] risk, we’re going to try to avoid it,” Ogrodnick said. “If we can educate people to help them avoid the risk, we’re going to do our best to do that. It’s not that we don’t want people to enjoy their lives or go out and express themselves, but you have to be reasonable and responsible and we’re doing our best to educate and