Dear Colleagues,

Miami-Dade County, including our downtown office, is encouraging employees to work from home. Many of our team are shifting to this virtual workplace and we remain open for business and available to help. If you have questions or need our assistance, the best way to contact us is through email. You can find a staff directory at https://www.miamidadearts.org/about/staff-councils.

We are continuing to monitor the health threat of Coronavirus (COVID-19) and are providing the following updates to help you with information and guidance:

· MAYOR CARLOS GIMENEZ ISSUES AN EMERGENCY ORDER CLOSING VENUES. Effective immediately, Mayor Carlos Gimenez has issued an Emergency Order closing “All movie theaters, concert houses, auditoriums, playhouses, bowling alleys, arcades, gymnasiums and fitness studios…” Please check the County’s web site for more information and for regular updates: miamidade.gov/coronavirus.

The County already had closed its theaters and arts center (Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, African Heritage Cultural Arts Center, Miami-Dade County Auditorium, and South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center), and virtually all other community theaters, museums, arts centers and arts events have been cancelled, postponed or closed. Arts and cultural organizations must follow Mayor Gimenez’s Emergency Order and should be guided in all other related matters by the recommendations issued by the White House (see below) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), https://www.cdc.gov.

· THE LATEST ADVICE FOR PUBLIC GATHERINGS. The President of the United States has recommended avoiding social gatherings of groups of more than 10 people. You can see all of the White House’s latest guidelines at https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/03.16.20_coronavirus-guidance_8.5x11_315PM.pdf. Please be advised that this advisory may change as we learn more about the nature and duration of this public health threat.

· REPORT THE STATUS OF YOUR ACTIVITIES. We continue to encourage you to report cancelled, postponed and/or closed events and facilities through this brief survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfxLqh93EDgBkfL7w6IXS2LfyPaOegZXOZ3evPtINAF4nmmWQ/viewform. We appreciate the assistance of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau and the County’s 311 service in posting notices of this information;

· THE IMPACT ON YOUR BUDGETS. We understand that COVID-19 is having an impact on businesses of all sizes and their employees; this is certainly the case regarding our cultural community. Consequently, we are developing a survey tool to

assess your organization’s additional costs and lost revenue attributable to COVID-19. We also are reviewing approaches to determine the impact on artists. For now, please keep track of the additional costs and lost revenues caused by COVID-19. The survey tool will be released under separate notice at the appropriate time.

Here are some other key sources for reliable information about COVID-19: The Florida Department of Health is updating information regularly. Read the latest information related to COVID-19 in Florida.

Individuals in Miami-Dade County who believe they may have been exposed to COVID-19 should call the Florida Department of Health at 305-324-2400. If you have a medical provider, call them. If traveling to a medical office or facility, call ahead. For questions about COVID-19 in Florida, please call the Florida Department of Health at 1-866-779-6121.

We are in uncharted territory with far more questions than answers at this moment. We promise to stay in close touch with you and remain committed to helping as much as we can. Our first priority is the health and safety of our staffs, supporters, artists and audiences. We are proud of the steps that all of you have taken to ensure this. Together, we have the creativity, talent, and determination to get through this and get back to being one of the world’s most dynamic and diverse cultural centers.

Our office remains open and our staff is available to help. The most reliable way to contact us is through email. Once again, you can find a staff directory at https://www.miamidadearts.org/about/staff-councils.