Miami-Dade County Mayor Rejects DeSantis Orders, Keeps ‘Key’ Restrictions in Place

MIAMI, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 08: Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava speaks during a press
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Hannah Knudsen

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava (D) opposes Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R) efforts to roll back coronavirus orders and insists that “key” coronavirus requirements, including masking and distancing, will remain in place across all county spaces.

DeSantis on Monday effectively suspended all local coronavirus emergency orders — another step in prioritizing the freedom of Florida residents.

However, the Miami-Dade County mayor is not having it, stating that the county will “continue to require key COVID [coronavirus] safety precautions including masking, distancing, and disinfecting at all County spaces, including libraries, County parks, and County buildings.”

While she recognized DeSantis’s action allows businesses to forgo mask requirements, she is urging business owners to keep those rules in place anyway:

According to the Governor’s executive order, local businesses are no longer mandated to require COVID safety precautions including masking. However, I urge our business community to continue to keep the fundamentals in place — masking, distancing, disinfecting, and staying home when sick — to protect all our residents and visitors. And I’ve been encouraged by many businesses who are voluntarily choosing to keep these precautions in place for the safety of their employees and customers. I urge our community to continue using common sense to prevent the spread of the virus and to treat those around you, particularly in public spaces, with respect by keeping your mask on when around those outside your household.

“The local state of emergency remains in place, and the County will continue to provide COVID relief and response services including vaccination, testing, and senior meals,” she continued, urging residents to get vaccinated and describing it as the “best and only path forward out of the pandemic”:

According to Local 10, over 56 percent of those eligible to receive a vaccine (those 16 and older) across the county have received at least one dose of the vaccine. Per the outlet, “38.5% of residents are fully vaccinated, according to the latest state data.”

DeSantis has continued to prioritize personal liberty throughout the pandemic, to the dismay of the establishment media and his Democrat critics. He signed SB 2006 on Monday, which bans the use of vaccine passports in the Sunshine State and takes steps to limit overreach from both the state and local government during emergencies, as Breitbart News reported:

Per the bill, it is the “intent of the Legislature to minimize the negative effects of an extended emergency, such as a pandemic or another public health emergency.” It limits local emergency orders to seven days, allowing them to be extended once a week for 42 days. However, the governor can override the local emergency orders.

Local orders must be “limited in duration, applicability, and scope in order to reduce any infringement on individual rights or liberties to the greatest extent possible,” per the bill.

Additionally, the measure bans localities and businesses from forcing people to provide proof of receiving a vaccine for the Chinese coronavirus.

“This legislation ensures that legal safeguards are in place so that local governments cannot arbitrarily close our schools or businesses,” DeSantis said in a statement, adding, “In Florida, your personal choice regarding vaccinations will be protected and no business or government entity will be able to deny you services based on your decision.”

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