Miami-Dade cracks down on social distancing at construction sites

Miami-Dade County is cracking down on the required social distancing measures in place on construction sites and other essential businesses.

Mayor Carlos Gimenez issued an emergency order on Friday to alert people of the six-feet spacing required between individuals at construction sites, restaurant pick-up windows, convenience stores, grocery stores, gas stations and other essential businesses.

Construction is still considered essential for all project types throughout the county. A spokesperson for the county said that “police are cracking down and will close any sites where workers are not observing social distancing, especially when the lunch trucks come around.”

The order comes as some construction workers in South Florida have tested positive for Covid-19. On Thursday, developer Sergio Pino shut down his construction site near Miami International Airport after two workers tested positive for the virus. Pino’s Century Homebuilders Group informed its general contractors, Wechsler Construction and Conconcreto, to stop work on the 850 LeJeune mixed-use project.

Before he decided to close the site, workers were told to keep at least six feet between each other and not gather in groups. Pino said that he also had stopped allowing lunch trucks to come to the site.

On Thursday, Miami-Dade and Broward counties issued safer at home orders, only allowing travel to essential businesses, including grocery stores and pharmacies.