South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Website exposes businesses ignoring COVID-19 rules
With coronavirus cases on the rise, inquiring minds want to know which businesses are following the rules aimed at slowing the spread of the virus and which aren’t.
Broward County wants to help get the word out.
On Wednesday morning, the county launched an online dashboard on its website.
You’ll be able to see whether a complaint has been filed claiming your favorite restaurant, hair salon, gym or any other spot is breaking the rules.
The dashboard will update every hour at 36 minutes past the hour with the latest data, said Leonard “Lenny” Vialpando, deputy director of the county’s Environmental
Protection & Growth Management Department.
The status of the complaint will be indicated by color: Red means the business was cited. Orange means the place got a warning. Gray means the complaint is pending an inspection. And yellow means the case was resolved.
Broward Mayor Dale Holness has urged residents to call a 311 hotline to report potential violations they notice at businesses throughout the county.
Businesses might find themselves on the list if they don’t enforce social distancing, allow too many people inside or don’t require workers and patrons to wear masks.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the county had received 1,945 complaints. County officials are taking those complaints and forwarding them to the appropriate city. Then code enforcement officers in that city follow up.
“We are requesting the cities follow up within 24 hours of receiving a complaint,” Vialpando said. “If someone contacts the city directly, we ask them to upload that information to the dashboard as well.”
If a complaint is found to be invalid, the name of the business will be removed from the dashboard, he said.
Customers sit next to the bar Friday at Piazza Italia in Fort Lauderdale, a violation of rules aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus.