Miami Mayor Francis Suarez (D) said Sunday that he hopes the measures put in place to curb the spread of the coronavirus will prevent city officials from needing to enact even more dramatic restrictions in the coming weeks.
Both Miami and Florida are seeing record numbers of new COVID-19 infections. Florida reported a record 11,458 cases on Saturday and as of Friday, one in five tests for coronavirus in the Miami-Dade region was testing positive.
“It is clear that growth is exponential right now,” Suarez said on ABC’s “This Week.” “You know we’ve been beating record after record after record for the past few weeks.”
Miami Mayor Francis X. Suarez tells @MarthaRaddatz that the growth of COVID-19 is “exponential right now.”
“We have been beating record after record for the past two weeks.” https://t.co/IrVlwr3rS7 pic.twitter.com/t7Vs3XZVNg
– This week (@ThisWeekABC) July 5, 2020
Suarez said that while Miami was the last city in Florida to reopen, “there’s no question”, the pace of reopening played a role in how quickly coronavirus case counts began to rise.
“They criticized me for waiting so long,” he said. “But there is no doubt that when we reopened, people began to socialize as if the virus did not exist.”
Before the order to stay home, Suarez said, Miami saw 35 new cases a day. After implementing the stay-at-home order, it fell to 14 new cases per day, but 91 new cases of coronavirus per day were recorded in Miami last week, he said.
Miami Mayor Francis Suárez tells @MarthaRaddatz that the reopening of bars and restaurants contributed to an increase in COVID-19 cases: “There is no doubt that when we reopened, people began to socialize as if the virus did not exist. .. is extremely worrying. ” https://t.co/IrVlwr3rS7 pic.twitter.com/bDEFDYG8Vi
– This week (@ThisWeekABC) July 5, 2020
Suarez said he expects the recently enacted policies, which include a mask requirement, the closure of area beaches by the July 4 weekend, and increased sanctions for companies that fail to comply with safety regulations. , have a positive impact.
Suarez also said some people were upset with the restrictions, but that he has seen widespread compliance. On the masking requirement, the city has not made “massive amounts of enforcement,” he noted.
“The way it works is similar to when we made an order to stay home. You know, we don’t really go door to door and touch people’s houses,” he said.
Suarez added: “The reason we do it is that it is no different than telling people they need to wear a seat belt. You know, if you have a car accident, you know, there is a good chance that you will leave if you are wearing seat belt. Same thing with a mask. If people wear the masks in public, there’s a good chance we can slow down or stop the spread. That’s why do it. “
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