Miami Will Fine You for Not Wearing a Mask

As coronavirus infections surge in Florida, more cities are introducing mandatory mask orders—and the ones in Miami and Miami Beach have teeth. As of Tuesday, anybody who is unable to socially distance and not wearing a face covering in an indoor or outdoor public space in Miami Beach will face a $50 civil fine, reports NBC Miami. In the city of Miami, a rule introduced last week also mandates a $50 fine—rising to $500 for a third offense.

Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber says authorities decided to introduce fines because of widespread noncompliance with earlier mask rules, the Miami Herald reports. "We don’t have too many tools left in our tool kit, and we don’t want to be forced to return to a shelter-in-place order that proved so economically devastating," the mayor says. "On the street, waiting outside a restaurant, in your condo lobby or at the park—wear it." (Jacksonville, the new host of the Republican National Convention, has also made masks mandatory.)