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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. 

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