Miami-Dade restaurants will be allowed to reopen for limited indoor dining starting Aug. 31 now that the county’s COVID-19 infection rate is at the 10% level. Miami-Dade mayor Carlos Gimenez made the announcement based on meetings with restaurant owners and city mayors.
“We’re going to take this cautiously,” he says. “I’m not easing up on the curfew. We’ll see what happens after Labor Day weekend.”
Under the current reopening guidelines, restaurants:
• Can open for indoor dining at 50 percent capacity
• Are allowed to seat up to six people at the table, indoors or outdoors
• Cannot serve customers at the bar
• Must run a/c continuously to increase air flow
In addition, he called for diners to keep their masks on “until there’s water on the table. We’re going to have to be wearing masks indoors and out for the foreseeable future,” he says. “That’s not much to ask. Just put a mask on.”
Earlier in the day, Hialeah’s mayor said he was not enforcing restaurant restrictions banning indoor dining. Gimenez says county inspectors can come in and those restaurants may face fines for violations.
He also expressed concern about coronavirus cases at the University of Miami. “We’re not easing up on the curfew,” he says. “We’ll see what happens after Labor Day weekend and keep an eye on the positivity rate of young people.” Casinos will also reopen Monday, but bars and banquet halls remain closed.
Restaurant Job Opportunities
Meanwhile, restaurants geared up to reopen, posting jobs for line cooks, dishwashers, bussers and other openings, including a job fair Wed. 11-3 at Amara at Paraiso, 3101 NE 7 Ave., Miami, for positions at Amara at Paraiso, Michael’s Genuine and Harry’s Pizzeria.
