MIAMI – A sign taped to the main door to Gramps announced on Monday the popular bar in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood “is closed for the public good.”

Pizza Tropical, a Brooklyn Pizzeria at Gramps, is still delivering through apps like Uber Eats and Postmates. But it’s unclear how long they will be able to stay in business.

Gramps’ owner Adam Gersten is among the first entrepreneurs to open a business in the popular neighborhood almost eight years ago. He said the decision to close is painful.

“Moneywise, yeah -- It’s a disaster,” Gersten said.

Gersten said public health official’s guidelines on social distancing, which means people should be no closer than 6 feet of each other, prompted his decision to close.

It’s a decision he made before President Donald Trump announced Monday that public health officials need restaurants, bars, gyms and casinos to close amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The number of confirmed infections in Miami-Dade County increased rapidly to 23 and in Broward County to 38, according to the Florida Department of Health.

The public health measures had some hourly workers in South Florida fearing for their jobs as they live pay-check to pay-check amid a shortage of affordable housing in Miami. With a flurry of event cancelations, Camilo Linares, a lighting designer was laid-off on Thursday and Annie Lee’s event planning business is struggling. She launched SaveTheEventIndustry.com.

Miami Commissioner Manolo Reyes sent a letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis asking him to ask the federal government to make sure that an unemployment assistance program is available to assist those with loss of wages.

“Our hard-working residents will be hit hard by this crisis, and I believe it is our duty to help them keep going and keep their families safe,” DeSantis said.

Without having lost their jobs, there were salary employees who were already researching how to apply for unemployment and food stamps overs fears of a recession.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average suffered its biggest one-day percentage loss since the Black Monday crash of 1987 and economists said the pace is faster than during the 2008 financial meltdown.

“This is like an avalanche. It’s all happening at once," Heidi Shierholz, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, told The Associated Press, adding that “no one knows how long it’s going to last.”

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is asking the federal government for an expansion of loans to businesses. Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Florida will be making loans available to small businesses. The Small Business Administration is also offering loans at low rates.

“Nearly 90% of businesses in Miami-Dade would be qualified as small businesses so that means nearly every business here is eligible,” said Michael Finney, the chief executive officer of the Miami-Dade Beacon Council.

Finney is encouraging every entrepreneur in South Florida to participate in a state survey as officials from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity and the Florida Division of Emergency Management gauge the effects of the crisis.

For more information about the survey, click here, and for information about the aid available to private businesses call 850-815-4925 or e-mail ESF18@em.myflorida.com