Though a shutdown order is in place for nonessential businesses in Dade-Miami County, Fla., factories in the area such as Cigarette Racing Team in Opa-Locka are exempt under that order—at least for the time being. But after careful consideration throughout the week in the face of the escalating COVID-19 pandemic, Cigarette owner and chief executive officer Skip Braver said he is postponing operations for two weeks, starting Monday, March 23.

Cigarette Racing Team is suspending operations for the next two weeks. Photo courtesy/copyright Cigarette Racing Team.

Braver announced his decision to his employees, none of whom will be laid off, this afternoon.

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“People are our most valuable asset and we need to protect them,” he said in a telephone interview. “In the past two weeks, the level of anxiety of our people has been steadily rising. If someone coughs, everyone jumps. We’ve followed all the guidelines, kept people six feet apart and so on but the anxiety and fear are getting worse. And that’s understandable. This is a very serious situation we are facing with the coronavirus pandemic.

“We are not laying people off—Cigarette as a company is doing very well,” he continued. “We think this is right thing to do for the safety of our employees, their families and for the greater good. After the suspension is over we will return to normal operations. We have a lot of work to get done, which is a great problem to have.”

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