At a special meeting of the Board of County Commissioners on May 15, 2020, the board took the following action:

COVID-19 – received an update from Dr. Alina Alonso, director of the Florida Dept. of Health-Palm Beach County on local COVID-19 testing efforts. To date, 47,103 county residents have been tested with 4,278 positive cases, 9.1 percent. The statewide positivity rate is 7.1 percent. Testing for antibodies, thus far, has a very low positivity rate in Palm Beach County.

Beaches – agreed to reopen all public, municipal and private beaches, including beach parks, in Palm Beach County, effective Monday, May 18, with the following conditions and restrictions:

• Beaches will be open between sunrise and sunset only.

• Parties accessing the beaches shall follow CDC guidelines by limiting gatherings to no more than 10 persons and distancing themselves from other parties by six feet.

• Beach operations at the county-owned South Inlet Park will follow restrictions for Boca Raton municipal beaches.

Hotels – discussed reopening hotel, motel and commercial lodging establishments in Palm Beach County and directed the Executive Policy Group to amend Emergency Order 2020-002A lifting the restriction that precludes these businesses from accepting new reservations for persons other than critical/essential lodgers.

CARES Act -– received and filed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act Relief Fund certification, which includes receipt of $261,174,823 received on April 23, 2020. The county has until December 30, 2020, to expend these funds, which must be used only to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus, COVID-19. The board discussed several proposed allocations, including $60 million for small business grants and $3 million for childcare assistance. Financial Management and Budget was authorized to administratively process budget transfers within the General Government Expenses activity category with a maximum of $35 million to properly account for expenses by department and object.