Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez is currently in self-quarantine at his home due to the outbreak of coronavirus.
Although a test he took last week came back negative, the mayor noted that sometimes symptoms can take longer to show up and out of an abundance of caution, he decided not to interact with others and to spreading the virus.
On Saturday night, Gimenez tweeted that the Miami-Dade Emergency Management will begin operating at a Level II due to the ongoing concerns over the threat of COVID-19.
“It’s an activation of our EOC (Emergency Operations Center),” Gimenez explained during an appearance on Miami television station WPLG. “That means it’s open 24 hours a day, so that if anything happens, we will have somebody there.”
Sunday the @MiamiDadeEM will begin operating at a Level II as it monitors the health threat posed by COVID-19. I urge you to verify the sources of your information to avoid overreacting. I outline the next steps Miami-Dade County will take in this video: https://t.co/cD4EwmvDVu
— Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez (@MayorGimenez) March 15, 2020
Gimenez added the approach is similar to what Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has done with the state’s EOC.
The mayor also emphasized that residents should be taking the proper measures, which include keeping social distancing, constantly washing hands and avoiding touching one’s face.
“The 2.8 million residents that live in in Miami-Dade need to assume that everybody that they’re in contact with is infected,” he says. “If you do that, you’ll take measures that will protect yourself and will protect others. That’s the way we beat this virus.”