Longboat chief outlines how town could slowly reopen

On a conference call with town stakeholders on Monday, Longboat Key Fire Rescue Chief Paul Dezzi outlined how the town could slowly begin to reopen.

“Our goal here is to make sure that have a thoughtful, a safe, a methodical and efficient process in lifting some of these restrictions,” Dezzi said. “It is very important that we do that.”

Dezzi said the town would work with the governor’s proposed task force and the Chamber of Commerce.

Using what Dezzi called the “incident command system,” the town would also coordinate with surrounding municipalities.  “We are going to be in unison in trying to get the message out and trying to…making sure that open our beaches and we open certain parts of Longboat Key with the understanding that the other counties are doing similar operations,” Dezzi said.

During a local emergency, the town of Longboat Key falls under the coordinator and direction of Sarasota County.

 Town Manager Tom Harmer extended several of Longboat Key’s closures, suspensions and cancellations until at least May 1. Harmer and town staff are set to reevaluate his executive order over the next several days.

“I would say, don’t let our guard down,” Harmer said. “There were eight new positives in the last 24 hours in Sarasota County, so we’re still in this active phase of infection. There were even more positives in Manatee County, so we have to still pay attention.”

However, the town of Longboat Key has not had a positive COVID-19 test since April 1.

The Florida Health Department’s interactive dashboard shows Longboat Key’s 34228 ZIP code has less than five active positive tests of COVID-19. Overall, Sarasota County has 289 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 24 deaths, while Manatee County has 428 confirmed cases and 31 deaths.