COVID conditions, Zoom complications force cancellation of February Meeting

The AMO membership meeting scheduled for Monday, February 8, at headquarters in Dania Beach has been canceled because of surging COVID-19 conditions and because of security concerns arising from Zoom virtual meeting demonstrations.

A local ordinance prohibits gatherings of 10 or more when the rate of new coronavirus infections is above 5 percent. In Broward County, this rate has hovered between 8 percent and 10 percent for several weeks, spiking at one point to 13 percent.

On Wednesday, February 3, the Broward County positivity rate was 8.19 percent. In Miami-Dade County to the immediate South, and in Palm Beach County to the immediate North, the rates of new infection were 7.70 percent and 7.84 percent, respectively.

Florida remained one of three states reporting more than 1 million cases since the COVID-19 national health emergency notice was issued in mid-March 2020. The state had 1,737,640 cases, with the deaths of 26,822 residents and the loss of 447 non-residents.

In addition to the persistent health risk, AMO members traveling to Dania Beach from their home states or from their vessels in ports outside of Florida are subject to quarantine upon arrival and coronavirus testing and quarantine on their return to other states.

Additional complications arose as AMO joined with Zoom to determine a secure, practical way of holding virtual membership meetings every month.

One difficulty was that, in the recommended platform, the only individuals visible during these meetings would be the seven members of the AMO Executive Board - elevating the risk of unauthorized individuals listening to and commenting on important AMO business for unknown reasons.

Another problem was the possibility of individuals attempting to log on from two or more computers or cell phones to attempt recording the sessions for potentially adverse purposes.

AMO will continue exploring its virtual meeting options with other service providers - Google Meet, for example.

Meanwhile, this administration's priority remains the health and safety of all AMO members and their families - we do not want anyone contracting the coronavirus while at or near AMO headquarters and later exposing their families or shipmates to COVID-19 and its consequences.

Today, our thoughts are with AMO members who may have lost loved ones to COVID 19 or who have had to miss important family events, and we extend moral support to AMO members who have had to help support sons, daughters or other relatives who lost their jobs or have had to abandon small businesses in the COVID-19 economy.

Paul Doell
AMO National President
February 4, 2021