Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava held a conference to announce new and expanded measures the County is taking to mitigate the spread of Omicron throughout the county. As the entire nation experiences an alarming increase in COVID cases, Miami-Dade has seen a recent significant increase in the demand for tests and antibody treatments.
“We have seen the Omicron variant rapidly spread just over the last few weeks, and especially as we head into the holidays, we’re focused on making sure we are doing everything possible to protect our residents and visitors,” said Mayor Levine Cava. “We know that getting vaccinated and boosted is still the single most important thing you can do to protect yourselves and loved ones. The vaccines work to protect people from serious illness and death, and boosters offer you optimal protection. And by continuing to follow the simple, common-sense measures that we all know prevent the spread, we will come through this latest surge and make sure that we enter the New Year as strong as ever and poised to continue building back in 2022.”
The Mayor announced the following new and expanded measures:
- Expanding testing: To continue to ensure testing remains as accessible as possible to our community, the County is expanding hours and opening additional testing sites.
- Masking: Given the surge in cases, masks are required in County buildings to protect residents, employees, and visitors, effective immediately – a common-sense measure that will reduce transmission especially around the holidays.
- Additional treatment: Mayor Levine Cava has sent a letter to the Florida Department of Health asking that Miami-Dade be urgently prioritized in any additional shipments of monoclonal antibody supplies, and asked the federal government to allocate additional monoclonal antibody resources. The County is also laying the groundwork to offer the antiviral Pfizer pill as soon as supply becomes available.
