Due to the new wave of infections, Miami urged the 25% of the population who had not yet done so to get vaccinated and reimposed the use of masks in public buildings

Following new recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Florida’s most densely populated county, Miami-Dade will begin demanding the compulsory wearing of face masks for all employees and visitors in their public buildings, whether or not they are vaccinated.

The announcement was made at a press conference by the county mayor, Cava Daniella Levine, who also asked its residents to wearing masks indoors or in places where there is a large concentration of people. This is a request and not an imposition, as the county cannot legally require the use of masks because in Florida the governor Ron DeSantis it explicitly prohibited municipalities from adopting this type of by-law.

“We have come this far. We can’t back down, especially now that our economy is starting to improve, ”said Levine Cava.

The county’s infection rate topped 10% this week for the first time in more than two months. In the last seven days, 11,104 new cases of COVID 19 in the county. In previous waves, Miami-Dade was the hardest hit area of ​​Florida. The state, in general, is experiencing a significant increase in the number of new infections.

“Florida is one of the most affected states. From there, 20% of new cases in the country are reported, ”said the White House press secretary, Jen psaki.

Much of this new wave, experts say, is that those who have not yet been vaccinated are the ones who benefit the most. The President of the Jackson Memorial Public Health System, Carlos migoya, called this new wave of infections a “pandemic of the unvaccinated”.

In the state of Florida, although the vaccine is available without restrictions to anyone over the age of 12, less than half of the population has been fully vaccinated. In Miami-Dade, if residents are considered eligible for the vaccine, 75 percent of them have been vaccinated. But the problem is, those who haven’t apparently don’t intend to either.

“Getting vaccinated is the solution”, Levine Cava emphatically reiterated, urging those who have yet to be inoculated to do so.

To facilitate the process, this week the county reopened five vaccination centersation and tests in various neighborhoods, which can be attended without delay between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.

County hospitals should also start limiting the number of people in their vicinity, to avoid crowding in confined spaces. On the other hand, in public transport (buses, trains, planes and boats), wearing a mask has always been compulsory by federal regulations.

The Miami-Dade public school superintendent has announced that he is assessing the situation to see if he changes the provision that makes the use of masks optional in schools. Miami children will return to school at the end of August after summer vacation.

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