Ryan Nicol
A pair of South Florida casinos are voluntarily shutting down as the region continues to lead the state in positive tests for the COVID-19 virus.
The Miami Herald reports Calder Casino and The Casino at Gulfstream Park are shutting down. So far, the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino has not moved to suspend operations.
Calder was closed as of Monday and will remain shuttered until March 30. The Gulfstream Casino is closing indefinitely after shutting its doors Monday night.
The announcement comes after several Las Vegas casinos announced they would voluntarily close as well.
The Gulfstream Casino is located in Hallandale Beach in Broward County. Calder is just southwest in the northern portion of Miami-Dade County.
Those two counties contain the most positive cases of coronavirus in any county in the state. As of Tuesday morning, Broward had seen 43 positive tests for the new coronavirus, while Miami-Dade had seen 32 positives.
Palm Beach County, which sits just north of Broward, is tied for third with nine positive tests.
The Gulfstream Park complex, which houses the casino, is not shutting down entirely. Shops within the complex will decide individually whether to remain open, according to the Herald.
Monday, President Donald Trump warned against gathering in groups of more than 10 people in an effort to stop the spread of the virus.
The death rate for those who test positive for the virus has recently sat above 3%. However, those calculations do not include individuals who may have contracted the virus, but are asymptomatic and thus survive without incident. Including those individuals would lower the death rate, but it’s unclear how many such individuals there are worldwide.
Most who do show symptoms develop a fever or cough and may have trouble breathing, though they do recover. But older individuals and those with underlying health risks are susceptible to developing more severe symptoms.
