JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry announced Friday that Duval County’s beaches will be closed until further notice, starting at 5 p.m. Friday.
The same day, Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered all restaurants in Florida to shift to takeout and delivery service only and close their dining rooms to patrons.
Recommended Videos
Curry said Monday that he was strengthening his executive order and as of 8 a.m. Tuesday, would require employees to work from home if possible and if employees must be in the office, they would be required to be at least 6 feet away from other employees. Anyone who doesn’t follow the order could face fines and citations from the fire marshal. Chief Judge Mark Mahon has also issued an administrative order blocking any eviction and foreclosure proceedings until further notice.
Duval County agencies and city-owned utility JEA are also making changes to promote social distancing and help halt the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
JEA
As a precautionary measure to protect customers and employees, JEA will close its downtown Customer Business Office (CBO), effective Monday, March 23. The office located at 21 W. Church St. will remain closed until further notice.
Customers will continue to be able to pay their bills at www.jea.com, by phone and at over 200 locations throughout the Jacksonville area, including Publix and Winn Dixie.
In addition, JEA call center agents will continue to be available to handle customer inquiries. To reach them, call 904-665-6000 for residential customers, 904-665-6250 for commercial customers or visit www.jea.com.
JTA
The Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) shifted bus routes to a modified schedule starting on March 17.
Effective on Tuesday, March 17, 2020, and continuing through the end of March, JTA’s weekday bus routes will run on a modified schedule. Schedules will remain unchanged on Saturdays and Sundays.
This modified weekday schedule matches JTA’s Saturday schedule. In addition to the bus routes that normally operate on Saturdays, JTA will continue to run some Shuttle Routes, which primarily serve economic development centers and key area:
- Route 80, the NAS Shuttle
- Route 84, the Philips/Grand Bay Shuttle
- Route 86, the Northside Shuttle
Routes 1, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 32, 33, 50, 51, 53, 81, 82, 85 and the First Coast Flyer Blue Line, Green Line and Red Line will continue to operate Monday – Saturday. Express Routes 200, 201, 202 and 205 will also continue to operate.
No service changes are planned for the ReadiRide, Door-To-Store, Connexion and Connexion Plus Paratransit services, the St. Johns River Ferry or the Nassau Express Select.
The Skyway will remain closed.
Customers are being asked to stay in their vehicles when using the St. Johns River Ferry.
Schedules can be found HERE and on already printed materials at JTA bus stations and facilities.
Please note that the NextBus app will not be functional during the next few weeks while this modified schedule is in place. Please call JTA Customer Service at 904- 630-3100 if you need assistance with a specific route.
The JTA continues to coordinate with the City of Jacksonville Emergency Operations Center, the Florida Department of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and other agencies to monitor this fluid situation. Daily cleaning and disinfecting of JTA vehicles and stations will continue and could be increased as needed.
JTA expects these changes to stay in place through March 31, 2020, at which time we will re-evaluate, modify or update our plans.
Tax collector’s offices
The Duval County Tax Collector’s Office will close walk-in service to the public at all branch locations effective Friday, March 20 at 4:30 p.m. Customers can still complete many transactions using online, phone or mail services.
"The health and safety of our employees and that of the community is at the forefront of all we do,” Tax Collector Jim Overton said. “While our physical offices will be closed, we will assign more employees to our call center, online and mail processing so we can still provide vital services to our customers in a limited capacity.”
A list of all services that can be completed by online, phone or mail are listed on the Tax Collector’s website (www.DuvalTaxCollect.net). Services include:
Tag/Decal Renewal www.duvaltaxcollect.net
Update Commercial Driver License Medical Card www.flhsmv.gov
Purchase Driving Record www.flhsmv.gov
RENEW Driver License online if Real ID compliant & 30-day extension with fee waiver www.flhsmv.gov
Birth Records visit http://www.floridahealth.gov/certificates/index.html.to obtain details/locations
JEA Utility Bills visit www.JEA.com or pay by phone 665-6000
Property Tax & LBT payments www.duvaltaxcollect.net
DL Written Tests online for age 17 and under, visit https://www.flhsmv.gov/driver-licenses-id-cards/driver-license-exams/ for a list of approved schools
Dealer work will continue to be processed through the Electronic Filing System (EFS) Non-EFS dealers should call 904-255-5700 for more information.
For more updates or more information, visit www.duvaltaxcollect.net; direct email to: taxcollector@coj.net; telephone 904-255-5700; Twitter @DuvalTaxCollect; or “Like” them on Facebook at Duval County Tax Collector’s Office.
Clerk of courts
Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Duval County Clerk of Courts will temporarily be closing its beaches branch located at 1543 Atlantic Blvd. The branch will be closed at the end of business on Friday, March 20, until further notice.
The Clerk’s main office located in the Duval County Courthouse remains open at this time.
For future updates, visit www.duvalclerk.com/status. The site is updated frequently as new information is received by the Clerk’s Office and all interested parties are urged to check it regularly for any future changes to normal operating procedures.
Elections offices
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, Duval County Supervisor of Elections Mike Hogan is announcing that normal operations in his office at 105 East Monroe St. will be closed to the public beginning at 8 a.m. Monday, March 23, until further notice.
"This move is mandated as a good public health policy” Hogan said. “At the same time, we are committed to addressing the needs of our candidates, voters and the public in general. We will be available through our website, email, phone and by appointment when necessary.”
Duval County residents can register to vote, update their voter registration information (address, name and party affiliation) or sign up for Vote By Mail online at www.duvalelections.com, or by calling 904-630-1414.
Candidates for office can contact the candidate services liaison at lanas@coj.net or by phone at 904-630-1414.
The public meetings required to complete the 2020 Presidential Preference Primary will be published on the home page of the SOE website at www.duvalelections.com.