Miami Beach Cancels Spring Break As Mayor Francis Suarez Tests Positive For COVID-19

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COVID-19 is quickly making its way across the U.S., forcing event cancellations, the NBA and MLB season postponements, music festival cancellations, nightclub and arena closures and so much more, swiftly being implemented across the country. Miami has followed other cities like New York, Los Angeles and Seattle, as they’ve officially declared a state of emergency and officially ‘canceled’ spring break. What does that mean exactly? It means that events more than 250 people will not be permitted, curfews will be enforced and activities such as “pool parties” and other gatherings will no longer be permitted to take place.

 

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After last nights announcements we feel it’s best to take a pause @livmiami @storymiami. We love u

A post shared by David Grutman (@davegrutman) on Mar 12, 2020 at 8:54am PDT

Today, it was announced that City of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has tested positive for COVID-19 following a meeting with Brazilian President Bolsonaro—who just spent time in the Magic City following a meeting with President Trump at Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach. While the Brazilian President has just come out denying the claims that he tested positive for the virus after a second test (as reported by Page Six)—which was preliminarily confirmed yesterday—Suarez underwent testing and has confirmed that he did, in fact, test positive for it. For the next two weeks, he will remain in self-quarantine at his Coconut Grove home, while government officials who have interacted with him or shaken hands with him are encouraged to self-quarantine, as well.

 

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My message in light of the news that I have tested positive for COVID-19.

A post shared by Mayor Francis Suarez (@francisxsuarez) on Mar 13, 2020 at 9:59am PDT

Following the Bay Harbour Islands coronavirus case, the Miami-Dade County Public Schools closed its first school—Ruth K. Broad/Bay Harbour K-8 Center—as of today until further notice.

So far, there are a total of 26 cases of COVID-19 in the state of Florida, with more to inevitably follow.

As always, individuals are encouraged to practice social distancing—no shaking hands, keeping a distance from others, avoiding group gatherings—making a conscious effort to avoid close contact between people. We encourage you to keep yourselves informed by checking in with local news sources for new updates as this develops.