Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Trump's Mar-a-Lago restaurant and pools to reopen but guests must bring their own towels

Resort temporarily laid off 150 employees in April 

Chelsea Ritschel
New York
Friday 15 May 2020 10:49 EDT
Comments
(REUTERS)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club will partially reopen this weekend, with the pool, whirlpool and restaurant to be opened to members who follow social distancing guidelines.

As South Florida slowly reopens amid the coronavirus pandemic, members of the resort were informed of the reopening of the resort’s amenities by email, later obtained by The Washington Post.

According to the email, members of the South Florida resort who wish to use the facilities will have to practise social distancing, with lounge chairs set to be placed six feet apart. Members will also have to bring their own towels.

The resort’s main building, including hotel rooms, main dining area and the president’s private residence will remain closed, per the email.

The partial reopening of the resort - two months after it was closed in accordance with the state’s stay-at-home order - comes as Governor Ron DeSantis continues to push for the state to reopen.

A month into the club’s closure, 153 Mar-a-Lago employees were furloughed, a decision the president defended on the basis that there were “no customers”.

"There's no income coming in," Mr Trump said at the time. "But you can't have, you know, many hundreds of employees standing around doing nothing. There's no customer. You're not allowed to have a customer."

Currently, restaurants in the state are allowed to operate at 25 per cent capacity, with Mr DeSantis expected to push for 50 per cent capacity.

According to the latest figures, there have been more than 43,000 cases of coronavirus in Florida and 1,874 deaths attributed to the virus.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in