Florida Update: Miami-Dade and Orange Counties Enter Stay-at-Home Orders, and Florida Modifies Travel Quarantine Order

Florida saw another uptick in local action after Governor Ron DeSantis indicated that he did not believe entering a statewide quarantine order would be necessary. In the absence of a statewide stay-at-home order, the more populous areas of Florida have moved forward with notable stay-at-home orders.

On March 25, 2020, Miami entered Emergency Order 20-04. The order:

• Directs all Miami residents to remain at home, to refrain from non-essential travel, and to leave only to seek services or goods in connection with essential services specified in prior orders.
• Reiterates closure obligations for clubs, bars, dine-in restaurants, movie theaters, performance venues, gyms, and casinos.
• Limits operational occupancy of essential businesses to 50% of the business’s permitted occupancy load and imposes a hard cap on occupancy of 250 persons.
• Imposes a ban on price gouging for water, food, ice, chemicals, sanitizers, cleaning products, and lumber, as well as a prohibition on imposing unconscionable prices for renting and leasing storage facilities and housing.

And, on March 24, 2020, Orange County, which includes the Orlando area, entered Executive Order 2020-04. This order:

• Directs all individuals to stay at home, except to conduct essential activities. Examples of essential activities are included in the order and track orders entered by other jurisdictions.
• Provides a very extensive list of businesses that re considered essential. The order does not impose occupancy limitations but does recommend practicing social distancing.
• Imposes a fine of up to $500, imprisonment up to 60 days, or both for violations of the order.

The order is set to expire on April 9, 2020.

In addition to these county-level orders, the State also entered an additional executive order, Executive Order 20-82, that expanded on Monday’s order imposing a 14-day quarantine to include a requirement to inform “any individual in Florida with whom they have had direct physical contact in the past 21 days that they traveled from an area with substantial community spread.” The order also requires law enforcement to report individuals who violate quarantine obligations to the Florida Department of Health.