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Keys Checkpoints Staying Up

Andy Newman
/
Florida Keys News Service
Monroe Sheriff's Office Col. Lou Caputo talks to a driver at the Florida Keys checkpoint on Friday.

The Florida Keys checkpoints at the county lines on U.S. 1 and Card Sound Road will remain up, Monroe County officials said Sunday.

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The county, Monroe County Sheriff's Office and Keys cities "have partnered" to keep the checkpoints going.

The county and cities will be supplementing the Sheriff’s Office with police officers, fire rescue, or public works employees, county spokeswoman Kristen Livengood wrote in an email.

She said the checkpoints would be up "until further notice with periodic review."

Keys residents, property owners and "those actively involved in work in the Florida Keys" are admitted, including trucks carrying fuel, groceries and other deliveries.

An estimated 2,000 people in 788 cars were turned away in the checkpoints' first 48 hours of operation, according to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office. 

Keys residents can show proof of residency can be demonstrated with a resident reentry sticker, or a hard copy of local identification, utility bill, deed, lease or tax bill. Those actively engaged in work in the Florida Keys, such as construction workers, will need to show a hard copy of a letter from their employer, employee identification, a paystub, or current construction contract in the Keys. First responders, healthcare workers and military actively engaged in work in the Keys will need physical ID as well.

Residents who wish to pick up a re-entry sticker can do so at Florida Keys fire stations — except those in Islamorada or Key Largo — any day between 1 and 5 p.m. Residents will need to bring proof of Monroe County residency to include local identification, utility bill, deed, lease or tax bill and the registration of the car that will need a sticker.

Residents are instructed to knock on the door and show the proof at the window and then move to the parking lot. The fire fighter will put on personal protective gear and walk the sticker to you, which may take a few minutes. The county asks people who are feeling sick not to come.

Nancy Klingener was WLRN's Florida Keys reporter until July 2022.
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