The mayor of Miami, Francis Suarez takes us through his experience with contracting the Coronavirus and how he came to know if it. He held a council meeting and in the meeting, an infected person was present. He was in close contact with him and even shook hands. Once this fact was brought to his attention by the medical staff, he immediately self-quarantined, later took a test and it turned our positive.

He explains why it is important to self-quarantine once you have come in to contact with an infected person because he didn’t exhibit any symptoms even when taking the test. This way, he kept his family, his close staff and other people from contracting the virus.

The mayor goes ahead and advises people that the only way to beat this virus is to reduce social contact and staying at home. Even though it is a big ask for people to stay at home, we have to do it or avoid overwhelming our hospitals. Francis explains to us that they are opening up a testing site in the market park.

He further explains to us how they are helping people cope with the economic realities of this pandemic. Miami has suspended evictions and together with other mayors, he has requested the Governor to implement a statewide suspension of evictions for anybody unable to pay rent and suspension of mortgage payments. The mayor has received assurances that electricity and the internet are not going to be cut off during this time. 

Key takeaways

• Quarantine immediately you become aware that you have come into contact with an infected person (2:38)
• How testing prevents transmitting the virus to people close to you (3:16)
• If you test positive, don’t panic, chances are that your symptoms will not be as bad (5:56)
• The only way to prevent the virus from spreading is staying at home (7:13)
• Even young people can get affected and end up hospitalized or even lose their life (8:05)
• Play your part not to overwhelm the hospitals (8:21)
• Suspension of evictions due to economic hardships in Miami Dade (12:30)
• Avoid being outside in large groups  (20:25)

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Additional Resources:

• Valeria on Instagram
• @MiamiMayor
• Mayor Francis Suarez