As of the afternoon of Thursday, April 23, the Florida Keys were five days into the 14-day goal of no new infections, health department administrator Bob Eadie said during an April 23 virtual press conference with various media representatives as well as county and Key West officials.
“I think it’s really good news, and hopefully it’s a trend that will continue. The logistics are getting better and more test kits are coming into Monroe County,” Eadie said before the evening report came from the health department.
An hour later, the number of positive cases in the Keys increased by one from 73 to 74 cases.
A Friday morning press release from Monroe County on April 24 emphasized that the Florida Keys are not likely to reopen to visitors in May.
“In detailed discussions with the Florida Department of Health in Monroe County, it is not anticipated that Monroe County will reopen to visitors in May,” the April 24 release states. “Monroe County understands there has been community discussion on opening dates for lodging and attractions, but because of the continued threat of COVID-19 in areas outside of Monroe County, not allowing visitors back to the Florida Keys will still be in place throughout May, and potentially longer given the state of the virus.”
County Mayor Heather Carruthers during the April 23 press conference, shared others’ cautious optimism about the possibility that Monroe County is on its way to flattening its curve, but said she has plenty of concerns about people’s financial situations and the potential for re-infection once the Keys reopen to visitors.
Multiple task forces are currently in the works to provide input and opinions from various industries as well as a testing task force to determine the best way to increase testing so the Keys have the ability to rapidly test residents as well as visitors, when they return.
“The starting point for any changes in our current restrictions will be after 2 weeks with no new cases,” Carruthers said. “We’re five days into that now, and will start relaxing protective measures when we continue to see the curve flattening, both here and in neighboring counties.”
The emerging situation in those neighboring counties will play an important role in determining when and how the Florida Keys react.
“Fourteen days would be one incubation cycle for the virus, but it’s very important to see what’s happening in neighboring counties,” Eadie said. “We want to be sure they won’t have any adverse effects here in Monroe County. I think the informational checkpoint has done a great deal to keep infection out of the Florida Keys. The worst thing we could do is to reintroduce infections to the Keys and have to do this all over again. That would be devastating. If we do our jobs correctly, we won’t see any high spikes of infection that other places have dealt with. But we’re going to have to figure out the best way to live in this new world.”
Pressing concerns
When asked about some of the biggest concerns now and going forward, Carruthers said, “My biggest concern is the financial stability of our community and people with no income. I feel at a loss because so much has been promised from levels above ours.
“I’m also concerned about cabin fever setting in, and people becoming less careful,” she said. “I’m afraid it’ll turn into something we won’t be able to control. But the more patient we are today, the safer we’ll be tomorrow. But we’re a resort destination. People could come from anywhere, including potential hotspots.”
Eadie said he was most concerned about a flare up in this community.
“People are hurting, is the honest truth,” Eadie said. “They’ve done an extraordinarily commendable job following stay-at-home orders. But how far can we go without reintroducing this disease into the Keys?”
County Administrator Roman Gastesi said the checkpoint is his biggest concern.
“The state is not happy about us having an information checkpoint on a state-run, federally owned road,” Gastesi said. “I’m really concerned the state will come down and end it.”
But, Carruthers emphasized, there remains a statewide safer-at-home directive, and the Keys are closed to visitors.
