Miami Lakes Town Hall closed to public until May 4

To look around Miami Lakes, one might not know that residents are enduring the outbreak of a potentially lethal virus that still has no end date.
In this new abnormal, roads have light traffic and people are out power walking, bike riding, going to stores and waving to friends.
But a closer look shows most have masks of some sort covering their faces.
To stop the virus from spreading, Town Manager Edward Pidermann ordered the protective gear on April 9 for patrons at essential businesses as well as the employees that serve them.
“It’s not [only] to protect you, but all of those around us,” Pidermann said. “We all have to do our part.”
Miami-Dade County issued a similar mandate which included construction crews.
The week of April 6, cases of COVID-19 in town rose to 30.
That week, Miami-Dade County Commissioner
Esteban Bovo, Jr. went on
Facebook to share his concerns that the northwest corner of the county was seeing a spike in patients.
There were 795 cases in the area that includes the town as well as Palm Springs North, Hialeah, Hialeah Gardens,
Miami Springs and parts of Opa-Locka, Bovo said then.
“We need to heed the warnings,” Bovo said.
Whether testing is raising the number of confirmed cases or the virus is being its aggressive self, Hialeah alone had 854 cases on April 12, when there were 31 cases in town. There were 461 deaths state-wide, the Florida Division of Emergency Management said.
As the coronavirus
rampaged through South Florida, Pidermann extended the March 27 closure of town hall through May 4.
But municipal business will continue, and virtual council and committee meetings are scheduled.
The processes to attend the meetings are described in town public notices published on pages 14-15.
Ways to communicate with the building department, file forms and request inspections were described on the town website.
As for the COVID-19 town order, masks may include a bandana, handkerchief or scarf and must conceal the nose and mouth.
Employees at essential businesses are those who work at pharmacies, grocery stores, restaurants and gas stations.
Not complying with the town mandate is a misdemeanor offense that comes with a fine or jail.
The order does not prohibit a maskless customer from entering any essential establishment if they have an emergency.
Before these precautions took effect, Publix supermarkets said on April 6 that an employee in its Miami Lakes store tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.
The worker was sent home on paid leave to recover and the store was sanitized, the company said.
Meanwhile, though the faithful could not attend Easter church services, the town persevered in its efforts to uphold another holiday tradition.
On April 11, multiple volunteers dressed as the
Easter Bunny. While wearing head- to-toe costumes they visited Miami Lakes neighborhoods to deliver buckets of candy and joy to kids who are hunkered down at home with their families.