Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez issues statement concerning further restrictions, announcing shutdown of boat ramps and marinas
Effective immediately, all boat ramps at Miami-Dade County parks will be closed until further notice. All marinas will be closed to all boating activities, with the exception of commercial fishermen who provide food for restaurants and markets. In addition, I am ordering the closure of all boat ramps and marinas countywide. And, the Miami-Dade Police Department will be out on the waters, ramping up enforcement of my “no rafting up” order to keep large group parties from taking place.
I am disappointed to see photos and videos on social media of boats close together and large groups of people congregating. And, to see this “sandbar party” flier circulating all over South Florida is truly disheartening, but mostly worrisome. We are in a state of emergency, and I cannot stress enough the need for personal responsibility. Current guidelines call for gatherings to be limited to groups of 10 or fewer. These sacrifices in our social lives are critical NOW in order to defeat COVID-19. Those of you not following these guidelines are putting others at risk, perhaps your own family and friends. And, you could be contributing to a much longer scenario and further shutdowns in our community.
Please go to miamidade.gov/coronavirus to link to all the resources that detail how to protect yourself and others.
Link to Miami Dade website for more information on boat ramp and marina closures
Originally boating was allowed but to many people were not following 10 people max, no rafting, and don’t intermingle families. Only go out with those you already live with.
Originally the Maimi Dade Mayor said that going out on boats was one of the last activities that one could do and stay safe amid the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic. However all kinds of boats were using boats as a way to get together with groups bigger than 10 people. Or tying up to other boats that may have 10 people each, sometimes 3 or 4 boats together with 10 people each is now 30 to 40 people intermingling.
So the mayor had no choice but to close boat ramps and marinas as people were not self regulating. His original message was clear. Feel free to go boating but with only those you are already in your home with, don’t intermingle with other families, friends, or groups.
Being that to many people were not using common sense the mayor had to then step in and do the opposite that he orignally said and close the entire marina and boat ramp system in the entire county of Miami-Dade.
Above are just a few pictures I took while out on the water around Miami last weekend. These types of things were what prompted the Miami Dade county mayor to close all marinas and boat ramps throughout the county.
