Florida Keys shut down due to coronavirus

Published On: March 23, 2020Categories: Industry News, News

The Florida Keys are closed to visitors, including all hotels and other lodging establishments. Officials from Monroe County, which encompasses most of the archipelago off the southern coast of Florida, posted a statement on the county’s website that said the Keys would be “closed to all tourists and leisure visitors, lodging establishment are no longer accepting reservations until further notice, including extending extensions of current reservations…all hotels, short-term (less than 28 days) vacation rentals, and other transient rentals like marinas, RV parks, and timeshares will cease renting to tourists for 14 days.”

The website noted that rentals being used by military, first responders, health care workers, and construction workers actively engaged in projects in Monroe County are exempt from the ban. So are long-term renters staying in vacation homes and RV parks for 28 days or more and who are already in the Keys. They will be allowed to stay through the end of their rental contracts. The county did not say exactly when the islands, which are linked by one highway, US 1, will reopen to tourists. However, county offices, which closed Friday, will remain shuttered until at least April 6.