Key West won’t have COVID-19 curfew
Key West’s mayor on Tuesday withdrew her proposal for a curfew on the island after business owners and workers called it an unfair burden that would further hurt the local economy.
That meant there was no vote by the Key West City Commission, which had a special meeting to consider a curfew as COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the Florida Keys.
Mayor Teri Johnston scratched the proposal after listening to more than two hours of public comment urging city commissioners to drop the curfew idea.
“Isolating restaurants and bars as the problem of COVID is enormously unfair,” said Michael Halpern, who owns the Southernmost House hotel. “COVID does not respect the time clock. COVID does respect masks. COVID does respect social distancing.”
The proposed curfew would have closed restaurants, bars and all food service businesses from midnight to 6 a.m. and prohibited alcohol sales from midnight to 7 a.m. It would have started at midnight heading into Wednesday and lasted until Dec. 3. The curfew would be similar to the one in Miami-Dade County.
Scott Atwell, CEO and executive vice president of the Greater Key West Chamber of Commerce, said Key West is in a competitive travel market and a curfew won’t help draw visitors.
“People are going to go where they feel welcome,” Atwell said. “Closing down at midnight? It’s going to be hard to spin that as a welcoming message.”
Johnston said last week that the city needs to take additional precautions due to the rising number of
COVID-19 cases on the island.
On Tuesday, she said people are refusing to wear masks when they can’t social distance.
“We’ve got people on Duval Street right now who are not wearing masks,” Johnston said. “It’s a very simple thing. Science agrees with it. If we just wear masks, we can keep our numbers down and we can save lives.”
As of Monday’s state health department report, Key West’s case count stood at 1,251, the highest in the Keys.
On Monday, Monroe County confirmed 28 additional cases and no new deaths. The county has a known total of 2,596 cases and 25 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases increased from 8.41% to 8.48%.
But would a nightly curfew help stop the spread of the novel coronavirus?
Maybe, said Bob Eadie, administrator of the Florida Department of Health Department in Monroe County. He urged maskwearing, hand-washing and social distancing.
“Everybody I see in Key West seems to know this,”
said Paul Menta, who owns Key West First Legal Rum Distillery, of the standard COVID-19 precautions. “It’s the visitors coming in.”
City Commissioner Sam Kaufman took note of Eadie’s “maybe” comment.
“Before we put people’s jobs and livelihoods on the line, I’d like to have a little bit more certainty and make sure we’re making the right decision,” Kaufman said.
Dr. Jack Norris, who is chief of staff at Lower Keys Medical Center, said he couldn’t find any scientific
research on curfews stopping the spread of COVID-19.
“Lockdowns can work, but they are a nightmare response to a nightmare situation and Lower Keys [hospital] is nowhere near a nightmare,” Norris said. “We want to make sure this economy stands.”
Norris added that the numbers are likely higher when it comes to COVID-19 in the Keys.
“They’re deflated,” Norris said. “A lot of people go without being tested.”