PALM BEACH COUNTY -- In anticipation of an Executive Order to be issued by Governor Ron DeSantis as announced at his 5 pm press conference in Broward County, additional community actions including restrictions on dine in restaurant services, certain types of business establishments, and beaches, are expected to be identified for Palm Beach County on Friday, March 20.

Broward and Miami-Dade lead the state in identified cases of the Coronavirus – COVID-19. As of 5 pm today, Palm Beach County is third in the state with 29 positive COVID-19 cases. Initially, Palm Beach County’s positive COVID-19 cases were travel-related. As the increase of test results are released by Florida Department of Health each day, a number of non-travel related cases in Palm Beach County have been reported, indicative of the early signs of a community spread.

COVID-19 is a local, regional, national, and international pandemic. On March 1, 2020, the Governor of Florida issued an Executive Order (20-51) directing the State Health Officer and Surgeon General to declare a Public Health Emergency for Florida. On March, 13, 2020, Palm Beach County declared a local State of Emergency and closed or modified certain county operations. The current status of closures can be viewed at http://discover.pbcgov.org/coronavirus/Pages/default.aspx.

The county continues to follow guidance and orders from federal and state authorities. As we work to prevent the spread of COVID-19, our response to this situation is very fluid and continues to address changing conditions.