On Friday May 8 Florida governor Ron DeSantis announced that Palm Beach County would be allowed to begin Phase 1 of re-opening. 64 other Florida counties had already received authorization to re-open leaving only Palm Beach, Miami-Dade and Broward Counties closed.
The decision to re-open came after Palm Beach Mayor, Dave Kerner, sent DeSantis a letter asking for permission to re-open his County. Kerner will begin re-opening on Monday May 11th, leaving only Miami-Dade and Broward Counties closed in the entire state. However, once news of Palm Beach County’s re-opening was posted both Miami-Dade and Broward hinted in the news that their re-opening would be Monday May 18 although there is no official confirmation yet.
Phase 1 Re-Opening
Phase 1 re-opening means that restaurants and retail stores can re-open but with certain restrictions. They can open up at 25% capacity and with certain safety protocols in place. This includes salons, barbershops, nail salons and other retail stores.
Re-Opening Oakland Park
On Saturday May 9th, Oakland Park Mayor Matt Sparks went live on Facebook to update the community on the City’s plans for re-opening. According to Mayor Sparks the 31 Mayors of Broward’s 31 municipalities will be discussing how to safely open each of their cities. The tentative date for re-opening, according to Mayor Sparks, is Monday May 18th but the guidelines for re-opening have yet to be established.
Mayor Sparks shared with Living In Oakland Park that he wants to be sure that the re-opening is done and safely and in stages so that it is not overwhelming for business owners or their clients.
The Mayor shared that the City of Oakland Park is in a position to assist local businesses with masks. “The City has a plan that is set to move quickly depending on what is decided on Monday (May 11th)” as far as the details of the re-opening. Mayor Sparks underscored that the 31 municipalities of Broward will work together so that re-opening is smooth and cohesive throughout the County and that citizens safety is first and foremost in these plans.
While re-opening will begin the Mayor urges residents to continue to follow social distancing protocols and to wear PPE any time they are out in public.
If you have any questions for Mayor Sparks you can email him matthews@oaklandparkfl.gov or call or text him at the number posted on the City’s website.
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