Governor DeSantis decreed at a press conference held in front of a handful of physically distanced reporters on Wednesday, April 29, that all counties outside of Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach in South Florida should begin reopening on Monday, May 4 with the following guidelines over the next few weeks (at least).
- Schools will remain closed until further notice.
- Elective surgeries will be allowed to resume.
- Visits to senior living facilities are still prohibited.
- Restaurants will be allowed to offer outdoor seating with six-foot space between the tables and indoor seating at 25 percent capacity.
- Movie theaters are not allowed to operate.
- Retail can operate at 25 percent indoor capacity.
- No changes for bars, gyms, and personal services like hairdressers.
- Social distancing is still enforced – avoid contact with people outside of your home, avoid groups of more than 10 people, and wear face masks in face-to-face interactions.
The second phase of the governor’s #OpenFlorida plan, which is still super-secret, will be put into effect only when the governor’s data says it’s safe to do so and certain scientific-y data benchmarks are met.
Orange County Mayor Demmings recently stated that the county will have more to say on its own official timeline for reopening later this week after taking the lead from Governor DeSantis and the State. Reports from inside the newly-launched Orange County Economic Recovery Task Force echoed his statement as they’ve been told to wait until the governor announces his own guidelines before setting their own here in the county.
Orlando Mayor John “Buddy” Dyer announced during a press conference held on Wednesday, April 29 that city facilities, including City Hall, would remain closed through the end of May.
The City of Orlando has been operating remotely through the past month, providing municipal services via the internet and will continue to do so until June 1.
At the time of this post, the county curfew will remain in place until further notice and it is still an arrestable offense to violate it and stay out past 11 p.m.
