To prevent COVID-19 from spreading, the officials of Florida announced that they might not open up schools or mass shelters for people who seek refuge in the event of a hurricane. 

Instead, they said, the state might utilize hotels reportedly "paid for with federal fund," and set out ride-sharing services to transport people to keep them away from harm. This was according to Jared Moskowitz, the Division of Emergency Management Director. 

Incidentally, Moskowitz told the task force members to reopen Florida, an even more rapid solution that has earned some attention, too.

Hurricane Season Approaching

As the hurricane season nears, precisely on June 1, COVID-19 has state officials reconsidering placing hundreds or even thousands of Floridians into large open spaces.

Moskowitz shared, the state is already in talks with Abbott Labs, as well as others, about acquiring an additional supply for virus tests "for hurricane shelter needs." Relatively, the department has the same apprehensions about utilizing buses to transport the evacuees safely.

It might be safer, the director said, to have Florida hire Lyft or Uber drivers to transport people to shelters. One more possibility, he elaborated, is to provide families with limited financial means with gas cards to help them get out of such situations.

To Issue Stay-at-Home Orders?

The state, according to Moskowitz, is discussing as well, if it is issuing stay-at-home measures for Category 1 and 2 storms, instead of evacuating, for those who live in shelters built after 1996, when the construction procedures weren't as strict.

That way, the official emphasized, they won't have as many Floridians congregating and leaving. He also noted that "such an idea would not be as useful for storms" that are stronger. 

Meanwhile, Gov. Ron DeSantis asked the members of the task force to come up with some recommendations on how the state would reopen by Friday. However, the deadline has been delayed and scheduled for early next week. Incidentally, the stay-at-home order he issued is set for expiration on Thursday.

Task Force's Requests

As for the recommendations, business leaders, as well as local officials on the task force, looked to the governor and the Department of Health for guidance. 

To this point, they've come up with two requests: One is to give clear orders, and the other is to provide those orders as soon as possible to give everyone time to prepare.

Asking for the same guidance, are the law enforcement agencies. Florida Police Chiefs Association executive director Amy Mercer specifically requested that the police officers not be transformed into "distancing police" when the reopening of businesses takes place.

If they open with some rules on social distancing, she said, there should be clear guidelines that everyone can understand easily. Otherwise, she added, such confusion will result in more calls to the law enforcers.

Check these out!