The city of Miami is setting aside more than three dozen police officers whose sole responsibility will be to enforce local mask mandates, the mayor announced this week.
“We all need to be serious about flattening the curve and putting this deadly virus behind us,” Mayor Dan Gelber said. “Please do your part and wear a mask.”
Last month, the government issued a citywide mask ordinance that mandated face coverings in all public places, with limited exceptions to children under the age of 2, people exercising or working out, citizens who have disabilities or medical conditions preventing them from wearing a mask, and customers at restaurants eating or drinking.
Failure to comply with the ordinance will result in fines of $50 for first offenses, $100 for second offenses, and $500 for third offenses.
In nearby Broward County, 40 businesses were closed for not following the orders, Commissioner Dale Holness said.
“There will be fines issued. There will be businesses closed, warnings. We’ll do what we need to do to protect the people of Broward County,” Holness said, according to the Sun-Sentinel. “We’re hoping that these measures that we’ve put in place are followed so we don’t have to shut businesses down again.”
Florida has seen a surge in coronavirus cases, hospitalizations, and deaths in recent weeks. Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, has pushed back on calls for a statewide mask mandate, which more than half the states have implemented to slow the spread.
“You catch more flies with honey than vinegar,” DeSantis said last month. “I’ve encouraged the locals to fashion those policies that fit their communities. … We’ve got a big, diverse state. The outbreak is not uniform.”
President Trump, who at first downplayed the effectiveness of masks, came out in support of wearing masks on an individual basis during a news conference this week.
“We are asking everybody: When you are not able to socially distance, wear a mask,” Trump said during a briefing with reporters on Tuesday. “Whether you like the mask or not, they have an impact.”
Over the weekend, Trump said he was not considering a nationwide mask mandate.
“No, I want people to have a certain freedom, and I don’t believe in that,” Trump said.
In the United States, nearly 4 million cases of the coronavirus have been reported since January, and more than 143,000 people have died of the resulting disease.
