UPDATED, March 25, 1:40 p.m.: The city of Miami issued a shelter in place order late Tuesday that went into effect just before midnight, marking the latest city in Florida to make the drastic move.
The city ordered all residents to stay at home to help reduce the spread of Covid-19. The order allows residents in Miami – which includes Coconut Grove, downtown Miami, Wynwood, Edgewater, Little Havana and other popular neighborhoods – to travel to essential retail, to essential places of work and to perform or deliver essential services to homes, such as repairs and landscaping.
That means that real estate agents can’t go to the office or hold showings, a spokesperson for the city confirmed.
Construction sites may remain open.
The order bans Miami’s hundreds of thousands of residents from all non-essential travel within the city, including by car, public transit and motorcycle. It does allow residents to be outdoors, but not in closed public spaces, such as parks.
The emergency order is similar to one put in place by the city of Miami Beach on Monday. Surfside, Bal Harbour Village, Aventura and Doral are among the South Florida cities to issue similar orders.
Restaurants in the city of Miami can continue to operate takeout and delivery services only.
As of Wednesday afternoon, there are at least 1,682 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Florida and 400 in Miami-Dade, according to the Florida Department of Health.
On Sunday, the village of Key Biscayne issued an emergency order effective Monday limiting and restricting non-essential and non-residential travel into Key Biscayne.
In Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, all non-essential retail was ordered to close last week. Hotels, motels and short-term rentals, unless housing essential guests such as national guard members and healthcare professionals, were also shut down in Miami-Dade County and Miami Beach, dealing a blow to the hospitality industry.