Florida Keys prepare to reopen to tourists Monday

Tourism is the lifeblood of the Florida Keys. It pumps up jobs and tax dollars. Supports fishing, hotels, restaurants.

So with more than five million people who visit Monroe County in a normal year, the island chain typically has the lowest unemployment rate in the state. But with tourists banned from entering the Keys since late March because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, Monroe County’s unemployment rate shot up to the second highest in Florida, a whopping 17.5 percent.

More than 8,207 people out of a workforce of 46,816 are out of a job, according to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. Only Osceola County, where most visitors to theme parks like Disney World, Universal Studios and SeaWorld stay in hotels and other lodgings, has a higher rate, more than 20 percent, according to the agency.

This time last year, the Keys’ unemployment rate was below 2 percent.

Now, Monroe leaders say, it’s time to get back to business.

Keys leaders hope the first step of the economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis will begin Monday, when the checkpoints on the 18 Mile Stretch of U.S. 1 and County Road 905 meant to keep out visitors are taken down.

What remains to be seen is if or when tourists will return in numbers high enough to put people back to work in a meaningful way, and also whether enough of the workforce stayed in the Keys to handle the returning tourists.

“We know we have to get back to work with what is to be our new normal,” said Mike Forster, mayor of the Village of Islamorada and a longtime restaurant owner. “But that doesn’t mean that we all are not hesitant in feeling a vulnerability of our health possibly being compromised.”

Keys residents are divided over whether this is the right time to reopen to tourists. On one side, business owners and unemployed workers say it’s time to welcome back the people who pay the bills.

On the other side, people who say it’s not worth the money to invite in those who have possibly been exposed to the coronavirus elsewhere.

Others are conflicted over the reopening, with the pandemic still a deadly threat. But the Keys are hurting when it comes to money.

FOOD LINES IN THE KEYS

Long lines have formed over the past two months as people drove or walked up to food distributions. Thousands of hot meals have been given away in Key West alone.

“This pandemic has hit hard and runs deep,” said Scott Atwell, executive vice president and CEO of the Key West Chamber of Commerce.

“There were people in those lines who never thought they’d be in a food line,” Atwell said. “Monday is a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel but not stepping out into the broad sunshine like we were in March. The businesses that have survived are optimistic they can hang on until it rebounds.”

It’s not clear how many of the Keys’ roughly 74,000 residents decided to stick around during the pandemic. What is clear is that for those who have stayed, it hasn’t been easy. Many are having trouble putting food on the table, state data reveals.

The year-over-year increase in food stamp beneficiaries from April 2019 to April 2020 jumped by more than 200 percent, the DEO reported.

Stephanie Kaple, executive director of the Florida Keys Outreach Coalition, said her agency’s rent assistance program and food pantry have been tapped out during the shutdown.

“They’ve both been tasked at a far higher rate than even after Hurricane Irma,” Kaple said. “There’s still a long road to people recovering from the COVID-19 crisis.”

KEYS RECOVERY

The situation is not unlike the aftermath of a hurricane, but much worse in the long- and short-term. With a storm, there’s a beginning and an end, and depending on the damage, residents, businesses and local governments get on with the recovery process within days and weeks of the system passing.

Even so, the Keys are not fully recovered from Hurricane Irma, which damaged or destroyed homes, restaurants and hotels when it crossed the lower end of the island chain as a Category 4 storm in September 2017.

The Keys now face an unprecedented situation of preparing for a new storm season while trying to begin to recover from the economic devastation caused by the pandemic.

“The road to recovery is going to be much harder than after Irma,” said Elizabeth Moscynski, president of the Key Largo Chamber of Commerce. “However, I am confident with all the measures that are in place, the Keys will recover and are going to be one of the best places to vacation.”

That will clear the way for tourists to once again enjoy Keys attractions and amenities. Hotels, motels and vacation rentals can reopen at 50 percent capacity.

IN KEYS HOTELS

Hotels aren’t exactly expecting hordes of people this week, especially not on Monday’s reopening day. But they preparing with sanitizing protocols and marked floors to create social distancing.

“Monday has never been a big day,” said Jodi Weinhofer, president of the Lodging Association of the Florida Keys and Key

West. “Bookings have now started to pick up a little bit. I’m not talking big but they’re starting to get a few more reservations.”

Hotels had furloughed their staff and aren’t likely putting everyone back to work, with a 50 percent occupancy recommendation from the county and other limitations.

IN KEYS RESTAURANTS

Restaurants may also open under the same restrictions. Outdoor seating is not limited to 50 percent capacity, however, tables must be spaced six feet apart. Like the rest of the state, bars and nightclubs must remain closed until further notice, according to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ executive order.

“We’re really looking forward to opening on June 1,” said Ann Jonas, who owns Sarabeth’s restaurant in Key West. “It’s been too long.”

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