The mayor of Fort Lauderdale issued an emergency order Wednesday (September 30) to clarify COVID-19 rules and restrictions under Florida's Phase 3 reopening, NBC Miami reported.
Last Friday (September 25), Gov. Ron DeSantis moved Florida into Phase 3, which removed many COVID-19 restrictions on the state. He also banned local fines on people if they are not wearing a mask.
Mayor Dean Trantails' emergency order requires businesses to have customers and employees wear masks.
The mayor called masks a "needed protection" that helps prevent the spread of COVID-19. Trantails added that Fort Lauderdale has had an infection rate below 5 percent in September.
The governor's order also allowed businesses to operate at full capacity. Cities and counties cannot order businesses closed or to operate at less than half-capacity unless for economic or health concerns, DeSantis said.
Under Trantails order, restaurants must keep a six-feet distance between tables and customers waiting in line. They can also stay open until midnight.
"We saw over the weekend that everyone went kind of hog wild and we didn’t see a lot of social distancing and people wearing masks and it scared a lot of people," Trantalis said. "We felt that since there’s been no further direction from the county, we thought we needed to step in, at least for now, and to give these businesses some measure of guidance and direction going forward and I thought we did so in a very responsible way."
This is also the first time bars and nightclubs can reopen since the pandemic started, but Mayor Trantails has other restrictions for the businesses:
"They will be allowed to operate at 50 percent capacity indoors and 100 percent capacity outside, similar to the rules previously placed on restaurants during Phase 2. Just like restaurants both businesses are allowed to operate until midnight, but social distancing must be enforced," NBC Miami said.
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