Would-be vacationers have been turned away from our beautiful islands in an abundance of caution over COVID-19. The Keys have been closed to visitors for nearly two months now, and the topic of whether we should reopen or remain closed is a hot one among residents. Business owners are thankful now that they can earn a small income from scaled-down operations catering to locals, but the driving force behind the economy in Monroe County is tourism. Without tourists, many businesses may never recover and will never open their doors to tourists again.
The closure of the island chain is possible because there are only two roads in to the Keys. Checkpoints have been set up at the beginning of the Keys. Though checkpoints like these are rare, they are not unheard of. Typically they are set up after hurricanes when even residents are turned away until their zone in the Keys is declared safe for reentry. To speed up the procces of reentry, residents have used reentry stickers since at least Hurricane Georges in '98...until now. Some savvy tourists printed knockoff stickers causing delays as now each and every car is stopped and drivers are checked for residency. Delivery drivers, essential personnel who commute from Homestead, and a few other individuals employed in essential services are free to enter. All others are turned around at the checkpoints.
Besides a pandemic and a handful of natural disasters, the most recent full-scale roadblock happened in 1982 when the federal government set up roadblocks in an attempt to search for drugs and illegal immigrants. Citizens quickly grew fed up with the wait time and after court proceedings did not swing in their favor, the Keys seceded from the United States and declared independence naming their new nation The Conch Republic.
The Conchs quicky staged a series of events in which they declared war, symbolically "fought" an individual dressed in Naval gear with a loaf of Cuban bread, surrendered, then demanded a billion dollars in foreign aid. Why all of the shenanigans? It was all because of a roadblock. So how is it people are surprised that the roadblock is angering folks on both sides of the blockade? The Keys have always been a place of refuge for individuals who embrace independent thinking, eccentricity, and the courage (sometimes liquid) to do what they feel is right and just. Which brings me back to the local disagreements over the current roadblock. Nobody wants to be infected with something that may harm them or be passed to their family members and neighbors who are less capable of recovery, but nobody wants to be bankrupt, either. The stress of personal and family illness is real but also real is the stress of financial ruin. Our local government agencies must find the correct balance in protecting its citizens from devastation, both physically and financially.
It is completely unlike the Conchs, both native-born and transplants, to accept something they disapprove of from the government, but in the case of the current roadblock, the citizens are divided. There will be no Conch Republic Navy maneuvers, no celebrations, and no fun shenanigans. There will be only divided neighbors, and division is not good for anyone.
With any luck compounded by the efforts taken by our citizens to keep this pandemic from destroying us, the Keys will open for business, with some predictions as soon as June. And while it has been nice to make left hand turns with little wait time and find a spot on the beach (now that they're reopened to locals) or the sandbar with plenty of elbow room, we need our visitors here to spice things up and keep us afloat. See you all soon, on island time!