Florida Enters Air Quarantine Order, Miami Public Gathering Limitations, and Jacksonville Work Order

Sign up for our Coronavirus roundup email.
Visit our Coronavirus resource page.

Seyfarth Synopsis: Florida’s COVID-19 containment measures are expanding after cases continue to increase. Just days after the Miami Herald Editorial Board published an editorial urging Governor DeSantis to “act like you give a damn,” Florida entered an expansive domestic travel quarantine order.

Executive Order 2020-80 provides that individuals traveling to Florida by air to Florida from “areas with substantial community spread,” including the New York Tri-State Area, to quarantine themselves for a 14-day period following their entry into the State. The order excludes only individuals employed by airlines and those performing military, emergency, or health response duties. The order’s effective date is March 24. Failure to quarantine upon arrival is punishable as a second-degree misdemeanor.

FIorida’s cities continue to enter additional emergency procedures. Miami, one of the epicenters of cases in the State, entered Executive Order 10-20. The order prohibits, subject to certain exceptions, more than 10 people from gathering in public streets or sidewalks. The order provides that essential commercial and retail establishments may continue to operate, subject to CDC social distancing guidelines.

Additionally, Jacksonville entered Executive Order 2020-3, which imposes mandatory work-from-home/remote work requirements. Effective March 24, all business shall allow workers to work remotely and, to the best of their ability, facilitate remote work. Perhaps more notable than the order itself was Mayor Lenny Curry’s statements regarding his intent to enforce the measure. Mayor Curry indicated that he would use all measures available to enforce the executive order, up to and including condemning buildings and cutting off utilities to non-compliant businesses.