Emergency Directive 20-05 County ®f Monroe .��,,' �� BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
yt Mayor Heather Carruthers.District 3
The Florida Ke S G Mayor Pro Tem Michelle Coldiron.District 2
y Craig Cates.District I g
David Rice,District 4 Z a. a
Sylvia J. Murphy,District 5 O a o
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MONROE COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT Is o
EMERGENCY DIRECTIVE 20-05 b
April 7,2020 Q
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SUBJECT: IMPLEMENTATION OF ADDITIONAL PROTECTIVE MEASURES FOR r
ESSENTIAL BUSINESSES AND SEPARATION REQUIREMENT FOR
INDIVIDUALS DIAGNOSED OR REASONABLY BELIEVED TO BE
INFECTED WITH COVID-19
WHEREAS, on March 1, 2020, the Governor of Florida issued Executive Order Number
20-51, directing the State Health Officer and Surgeon General to declare aPublic Health Emergency
due to the discovery of COVID-19'novel Coronavirus in Florida;and
WHEREAS, on March 9, 2020, the Governor of Florida issued Executive Order Number
20-52, declaring a State of Emergency for the state of Florida related to COVID-19/novel
Coronavirus; and
WHEREAS, on March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the spread of
COVID-19 to be a global pandemic; and, on March 13, 2020, President Trump declared a national
emergency concerning COVID-19; and
WHEREAS, Section 252.38(3)(a), Florida Statutes, gives political subdivisions the
authority to declare and enact a State of Local Emergency for a period of up to seven days,
thereby waiving the procedures and formalities otherwise required of the political subdivision by
law; and
WHEREAS, on March 15, 2020, the County Mayor declared a State of Emergency in
order for the County to take actions to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the community due
to the novel coronavirus, COVID-19 pandemic; and
WHEREAS, that declaration and Section 11-3 of the Monroe County Code vest the
Emergency Management Director with the authority to issue emergency directives; and
WHEREAS, on March 16, 2020, President Trump and the Center for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) issued the "15 Days to Slow the Spread" guidance advising individuals to adopt far-
reaching social distancing measures, such as maintaining a 6 foot separation between residents to slow
the spread of infection and that events with more than ten attendees either be cancelled or held
virtually; and
WHEREAS, on March 29, 2020, the President extended such guidance to be in effect until April
30, 2020; and
WHEREAS, on March 31, 2020, the President updated the guidance, renaming it "30 Days to
Slow the Spread," and along with the Coronavirus Task Force urged Americans to continue to adhere to
the guidelines and expand community mitigation efforts; and
WHEREAS, on March 17, 2020, the Governor of Florida issued Executive Order 20-68,
prohibiting the sale of alcoholic beverages at certain establishments and placing certain limitations
on gathering for bars, restaurants, and beaches; and
WHEREAS, on March 20, 2020, the Emergency Management Director issued Emergency
Directive 20-20 that closed the Florida Keys to all tourists and leisure visitors; and
WHEREAS, on March 23, 2020, the Governor of Florida issued Executive Order 20-80,
requiring all individuals that fly into Florida from states with substantial community spread to self-
isolate in Florida for 14 days or the duration of their trip, whichever is shorter; and
WHEREAS, on March 24, 2020, the Governor of Florida issued Executive Order 20-83,
directing the Surgeon General and State Health Officer to issue a public health advisory to all
persons over 65 years of age and to person with certain underlying conditions that place them at
high risk of serious illness from COVID-19 to urge them to stay home and take measures to limit
their exposure to COVID-10; and
WHEREAS, Executive Order 20-83 further directs the Surgeon General and State Health
Office to issue a public health advisory against all social or recreational gatherings of 10 or more
people; and
WHEREAS, on March 27, 2020, the Governor of Florida issued Executive Order 20-86,
requiring all individuals that enter into Florida from states with substantial community spread to
self-isolate in Florida for 14 days or the duration of their trip, whichever is shorter; and
WHEREAS, on March 27, 2020, the Governor of Florida issued Executive Order 20-87,
suspending vacation rental operations in the state; and
WHEREAS, on March 30, 2020, the Governor of Florida issued Executive Order 20-89
directing Monroe, Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties to restrict public access to
nonessential businesses and facilities; and
WHEREAS, on April 1, 2020, the Governor of Florida issued Executive Order 20-91 requiring
senior citizens and individuals with a significant underlying medical condition to stay at home and take
all measures to limit the risk of exposure to COVID-19, and requiring all person in Florida to limit
their movements and personal interactions outside their home to only those necessary to obtain or
provide essential services or conduct essential activities; and
WHEREAS, Executive Order 20-91 also requires local jurisdictions to ensure that groups of
people greater than ten are not permitted to congregate in any public space; and
WHEREAS, conditions presented by the threat of COVID-19 continue to pose a threat to the
public health that requires dynamic emergency response, including the maintenance of existing orders,
as well as the imposition of additional directives and orders as conditions require; and
WHEREAS, the CDC recently issued a Recommendation Regarding the Use of Cloth Face
Coverings, Especially in Areas of Significant Community-Based Transmission. The recommendation
states in part: "We now know from recent studies that a significant portion of individuals with
Coronavirus lack symptoms ("asymptomatic") and that even those who eventually develop symptoms
("pre-symptomatic") can transmit the virus to others before showing symptoms. This mean that the virus
can spread between people interacting in close proximity—for example, speaking, coughing, or
sneezing—even if those people are not exhibiting symptoms. In light of this new evidence, CDC
recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are
difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies) especially in areas of significant community-
based transmission."; and
WHEREAS, an increasing number of counties and municipalities throughout Florida and the
United States have adopted versions of facial covering requirements, including the City of Key West
(State of Local Emergency Directive 2020-05), Miami-Dade County (Emergency Order 19-20), and
Alachua County (Emergency Order 20-13).
NOW THEREFORE IT IS ORDERED THAT:
1. All essential businesses shall deploy strategies to reduce COVID-19 exposure for their customers
and employees including, at a minimum, the following measures effective at 12:01 a.m. on April
8, 2020:
a. Limit capacity and monitor entrances and exits to reduce their maximum occupancy load by
50%. Businesses that have multiple entrances and exits shall establish a protocol of
entrance only and exit only points.
b. Provide alcohol-based hand sanitizers for use by customers and employees, subject to
availability of supplies.
c. Provide disinfecting wipes at points of entrance, cash registers, and/or other appropriate
locations, subject to availability of supplies, for customers to disinfect carts, shopping
baskets, or point of sale terminals. In the alternative, essential businesses shall designate
staff responsible for disinfecting carts, shopping baskets point of sale terminals, and other
areas as frequently as possible.
d. Implement procedures to ensure that both employees and customers remain at least six feet
apart at all times. Such procedures shall include, but are not limited to, marking floors at
appropriate intervals to guide lines inside and outside of the business, or providing other
visible systems to allow person to maintain proper social distancing.
e. Close all salad bars and other self-serve food stations.
f. Refrain from distributing free samples or conducting tastings.
g. Implement procedures for custodial/janitorial staff to sanitize frequent touchpoints
throughout the day, including point of sale terminals at registers, conveyor belts, door
handles, door plates, shelves, and other appropriate locations.
h. Comply with the additional requirements and guidelines with respect to the use of personal
protective equipment, as set forth below in Section 2.
2. Covering of Nose and Mouth
a. Except as provided herein, effective at 12:01 a.m. on April 8, 2020, all employees and
customers of grocery stores, pharmacies, restaurants, food distribution points, hardware stores
and other essential businesses where 10 or more people may be present at the same time, even
while social distancing, shall be required to wear a form of covering over their nose and
mouth at all times while inside such essential business. All individuals providing delivery
services shall wear a form of covering over their nose and mouth while making deliveries.
b. A covering over the nose and mouth may include a face mask, homemade mask, or other
cloth covering, such as a scarf, bandana, handkerchief or other similar cloth covering.
c. In addition to the requirements applicable to the essential business identified in subparagraph
a above, all essential businesses are strongly encouraged to wear a form of covering over the
nose and mouth as described above.
d. All essential businesses are strongly encouraged to implement other appropriate policies that
follow the CDC's Interim Guidance for Business and Employers to Plan and Respond to
Coronavirus Disease 2019 and other available industry-specific guidance to protect
employees and prevent workplace infections.
e. The requirements of this Section shall not apply to any outdoor activity permitted under any
applicable City, County, or State order, except as provided herein with respect to persons
providing delivery services.
f. Nothing herein shall operate to restrict any employee or customer from accessing any
essential retail or commercial establishment to address any emergency or other exigent
circumstance.
g. Medical and surgical face masks, such as "N95" masks, are in short supply and should be
reserved for health care personnel and other first responders with the greatest need for such
personal protective equipment. Persons are encouraged to review and comply with the CDC
and Florida Department of Health guidelines on personal protective equipment, including
with respect to the use of face masks.
3. Any person who has been diagnosed, or is reasonably believed to have been infected, with
COVID-19 shall separate themselves from all individuals who are not infected to prevent the
possible spread of the disease. Such individuals shall continue to isolate themselves until a health
care professional and the state or local Department of Health notifies the individual that he or she
are not longer subject to isolation.
4. This Directive does not affect or limit the operations of Monroe County, any public utility, the
Monroe County School District, or any County, State, or Federal office or facility, except that
such entities shall abide by the restriction of any County, municipal, State or Federal emergency
order, as applicable.
5. The provisions of this Directive shall serve as minimum standards.
6. Severability. Any provision(s) within this Emergency Directive that conflict(s) with any State or
Federal law or constitution provision, or conflict(s) with or are superseded by a current or
subsequently-issued Executive Order of the Governor or the President of the United States, shall be
deemed inapplicable and deemed to be severed from this Emergency Directive, with the remainder
of the Emergency Directive remaining intact and in full force and effect. To the extent application
of some or all of the provisions of the Emergency Directive is prohibited on the sovereign land of a
federally or state recognized sovereign Indian tribe, such application is expressly excluded from
this Emergency Directive.
7. Effective Date; Duration. This Directive shall be effective when signed. This Directive shall
expire upon the expiration of the existing State of Local Emergency, and shall otherwise continue
as same may be extended by subsequent order or declaration, unless earlier terminated by
subsequent Emergency Order.
8. This Emergency Directive is in addition to the Executive Orders issued by Governor DeSantis
and other state or federal agencies.
9. This directive shall apply countywide except in a municipality which has adopted a stricter
measure.
10. Enforcement. Violations of this order may be investigated by the code compliance department
for the local government with jurisdiction over the location of the property. Enforcement action
may be taken by any state or local law enforcement agency.
11. Violations of this order may be prosecuted by pursuant to F.S. 252.50 with up to 60 days in jail
and a maximum of$500 fine per occurrence.
12. Prior emergency orders remain in force and effect unless modified or superseded.
Dated this 7th dayof April, 2020
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Signed:
Sl ; :n einer, Emergency Management Director
Approved as to form and legal sufficiency by:
Ro-49.e r-6. SH-W i.vLge sue, Jr.
Robert B. Shillinger
Monroe County Attorney