Southern Florida beaches will be closed during the Fourth of July weekend as the state grapples with a spike in COVID-19 cases.
A beach lockdown order was set to be signed Saturday, The Washington Times reported.
According to the news outlet, Miami-Dade County's GOP Mayor Carlos Gimenez said he decided to shutter all beaches from Friday, July 3 to Tuesday, July 7, after consulting with county health experts.
"As we continue to see more COVID-19 positive test results among young adults and rising hospitalizations, I have decided that the only prudent thing to do to tamp down this recent uptick is to crack down on recreational activities that put our overall community at higher risk," Gimenez said in a statement, the Times reported.
Gimenez also encouraged residents to wear masks in public and stay at least six feet away from others when possible — and warned the closures could be extended if people do not heed his advice and the outbreak worsens.
"I have been seeing too many businesses and people ignoring these lifesaving rules," he said in a statement Friday, the news outlet reported.
"If people are not going to be responsible and protect themselves and others from this pandemic, then the government is forced to step in and restore common sense to save lives."
The emergency measure came as the Florida Department of Health reported Friday that 8,942 new cases of COVID-19, setting a state record for the most new infections confirmed within a single day. The previous record of 5,511 cases was set two days earlier.
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