The goals of the operation were twofold, Sheriff Gregory Tony said at a virtual press conference on Wednesday: cut down on the large gatherings that were taking place and crack down on “roving car clubs” that gathered dozens of young people. in certain parts of the community.
There have been more than 1,100 service calls about parties and social gatherings, the sheriff said.
In the two weeks after the operation was launched, Tony says that the police responded to at least 13 different meetings or parties and issued more than 260 different quotes.
“Every time we have large meetings of more than 100, more than 150 people, it is clear that we are not seeing compliance with the CDC recommendations and therefore more people will contract this virus,” said the sheriff.
“We have no interest at the moment to stop having this type of compliance operation,” he said.
Broward County borders Miami-Dade County, which has been called by some experts as the country’s new coronavirus epicenter, with overwhelmed hospitals and intensive care units (ICUs) sounding the alarm over the surge in patients. . And in the past week, sick Floridians seeking treatment in Miami-Dade County have moved to neighboring county hospitals.
And across the state, the daily number of coronavirus-related deaths broke a record Wednesday for the second day in a row.
During his press conference, the sheriff urged the use of face masks and asked community residents to take a “common sense approach.”
“It’s no longer about the individual person,” said Tony. “When you don’t wear a mask when you don’t comply, you’re potentially exposing someone else. So it’s not just about what you can do for yourself, but what you can do for other people you don’t even know.”
He said that several businesses that did not follow coronavirus guidelines were closed for at least a day or fined.
“We need to get better compliance from our community, they must take on greater social responsibility. Otherwise, we will be there enforcing, citing and writing notices,” said the sheriff.
CNN’s Pierre Meilhan contributed to this report.
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