Some coronavirus restrictions ease up in South Florida

MIAMI (AP) — Some coronavirus restrictions started easing up Monday in parts of South Florida.

In Miami-Dade County, restaurants were allowed to welcome back diners to indoor seating for the first time in almost two months, provided masks were worn and the establishments operated at 50% capacity.

In Palm Beach County, officials issued an order allowing tattoo and body piercing parlors, as well as tanning salons, to reopen starting Monday.

In Miami-Dade County, most indoor dining has been banned in the county since early July to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

“This does not mean this is over by a long shot,” Mayor Carlos Gimenez said in an online news conference. “While we’re heading in the right direction, we’re not out of the woods.”

Under the order allowing indoor dining, restaurants will be required to run their ventilation and air conditioning systems with fans “on,” keep doors and windows open and limit no more than six people to a table. ...

The loosening up of restrictions in South Florida comes after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he was considering allowing South Florida to move into Phase 2 , which would allow more businesses to resume operations.

Meanwhile, Florida’s largest school district resumed classes Monday, though they were online rather than in person. Miami-Dade County Public Schools’ classes will remain online for at least a few weeks until the number of coronavirus cases in the county trends downward enough to resume in-person instruction.

But the online learning got off to a rocky start. The school district posted on Twitter that its website was having connectivity problems. “The problem has been identified and staff is working diligently to resolve it,” the district said Monday morning.

Florida reported around 1,900 new coronavirus cases Monday, raising the state’s total to 623,471 cases. Florida also reported 68 new deaths Monday, raising the state’s total to 11,331 deaths. ...