Last week, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced the details for that state's move into Phase I of re-opening.
One of the points of his order concerned tourists: Every local government had to put together a plan to deal with short-term rentals. That would include condos, beach houses, and the like.
According to a report from WUWF, a north Florida public radio station, one of the requirements of each plan was that it bans visitors from hot-spots. Some of those plans were approved yesterday, the station reports.
Okaloosa County, which includes Ft. Walton Beach and Destin, restricts visitors from identifies high-risk areas as New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Louisiana, the station reports.
Santa Rosa County (Navarre and Pensacola Beach) and Escambia County (Pensacola, Perdido Key) are even more restricted, only allowing reservations from residents of states with fewer than 700 cases per 100,000 residents. That adds Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Rhode Island and Washington DC to the list, the station reports.
That being said, the station interviewed an Okaloosa Commissioner who said there may be changes that allow Louisiana visitors, since so many people drive to Florida for vacation.
To read the whole story, click here.
Here are some details from these county plans.
From Escambia County:
Reservations and stays will be allowed from U.S. states with a COVID-19 Case Rate less than 700 cases/100K residents as of May 15. (https://www.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/index.html)
Reservations from COVID-19 hot spots identified by the Governor are to be avoided for the next 30- 45 days.
Reservations from international travelers will not be accepted.
Here's a link to the entire plan.
From Okaloosa County:
Vacation rental reservations, from areas identified by Governor DeSantis as high risk through executive orders (currently New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Louisiana) must be for periods longer than the quarrantine period established (in the governor's order). Guests occupying those vacation rentals must adhere to the quarantine restrictions or be subject to established criminal and civil penalties. For the safety of all residents and visitors, we encourage our tourism partners not to rent to guests from high-risk areas.
Here's a link to the entire plan.
Currently, the quarantine period for Louisiana residents visiting Florida is 14 days.
From Walton County:
Vacation rental reservations, from areas identified by Governor DeSantis as high risk, through Executive Orders (currently EO 20-82 New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, https://www.flgov.com/wp-content/uploads/orders/2020/EO_20-82.pdf and EO 20-86 Louisiana https://www.flgov.com/wp-content/uploads/orders/2020/EO_20-86.pdf) must be for periods longer than the quarantine period established in that Order.
All visitors are expected to follow Florida Executive orders 20-86 and 20-82, and individuals and rental agencies will refrain from accepting reservations from COVID-19 hot spots in the country for the next 45 days.
Here's a link to the whole plan.
