Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, via executive order on Friday, told restaurants statewide to halt dine-in services and suspended elective medical procedures as the coronavirus pandemic continues to ravage the country.
The Florida governor is ordering dining rooms in restaurants to close as part of a statewide effort to curb the impact of the coronavirus. Restaurants will still be able to offer delivery and take-out, per the order.
“I hereby order all restaurants and food establishments licensed under Chapters 500 and 509, Florida Statutes, within the State of Florida to suspend on-premises food consumption for customers,” the order reads.
It adds:
Notwithstanding the foregoing, such establishments may operate their kitchens for the purpose of providing delivery or take-out services. Employees, janitorial personnel, contractors and delivery personnel shall be allowed access to such establishments for the purposes of delivery or take-out services.
Additionally, while the order prohibits the sale of alcohol to be consumed on the premises, it allows restaurants to sell alcoholic beverages to-go under certain conditions.
The order reads in part:
The restriction in section 561.20(2)(a)4., Florida Statutes, prohibiting a specially licensed food service establishment from selling package sales of alcohol for delivery, take-out or consumption off-premises is suspended for restaurants complying with Executive Order 20-68, through the expiration of the state of emergency declared in Executive Order 20-52, including any extensions, so long as the following conditions are met:
1) Any sale of an alcoholic beverage in a sealed container for consumption off premises is accompanied by the sale of food within the same order; and
2) Any delivery of an alcoholic beverage complies with section 561.57,
Florida Statutes.
DeSantis also ordered gyms and fitness centers to close, although it does not extend to “amenities of hotels which have a capacity of 10 persons or less.”
He also issued an executive order restricting non-essential elective medical procedures.
The order reads in part:
All hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, office surgery centers, dental, orthodontic and endodontic offices, and other health care practitioners’ offices in the State of Florida are prohibited from providing any medically unnecessary, non-urgent or non-emergency procedure or surgery which, if delayed, does not place a patient’s immediate health, safety, or wellbeing at risk, or will, if delayed, not contribute to the worsening of a serious or life-threatening medical condition.
There were 520 confirmed cases of the virus in the state as of Friday afternoon.