Orange task force weighs masks stance
As rising coronavirus infections lead to more hospitalizations in Orange County, members of Mayor Jerry Demings’ advisory task force debated Tuesday whether to get tougher with people ignoring his face mask mandate. Health officials including Dr. Raul Pino, the state health official in Orange County, noted that wearing a facial covering helps to stop the spread of the virus often transmitted from personto-person through respiratory droplets.
“We are not looking for punitive action. We are looking for compliance,” Pino said.
He said the Black Bean Deli on East Colonial, a favorite of his, won’t admit him without a mask.
But while some restaurants enforce the mask rule which went into effect June 20, others don’t, he said.
A few members of the panel, tasked with building consumer confidence and encouraging businesses to follow the virus precautions, were uneasy with asking law enforcement to write citations to business patrons who refuse to wear face coverings.
“I don’t think it should be police officers at all. They have enough issues right now,” said Chuck Whittall, CEO of Unicorp National Developments, whose entertainment properties include The Wheel at ICON Park.
He also pointed out that, while COVID-19 infections in Orange County have risen dramatically since the dawn of the pandemic here, the positivity rate has fallen to about 12.8% for the latest week from a high of 16.7% the week ending June 27.
“It seems like the county’s trending in the right direction,” Whittall said.
The mayor’s mandate did not spell out punishment for ignoring the mandate, but the task force kicked around fines as high as $500, according to a PowerPoint slide listing possible penalties for the panel to consider.
The group decided to delay a decision until its next meeting, which is not yet scheduled.
Demings said he remains concerned local hospitals could be overrun with cases.
“We don’t want to wait until that occurs,” he said.
The mayor said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has visited the Orange County Convention Center in recent days to study the possibility of establishing a field hospital at the I-Drive campus, an option he called a “worstcase scenario.”
He also said he hoped to avoid another clampdown on commerce by urging compliance.
“The virus can kill you. There’s no question about that,” he said.
“But if we don’t get our economy going to some extent, that’s another slow death.”
Sam Stark of Rollins College urged the task force to strongly recommend the county enforce use of measures which have been effective in holding down the spread of the virus, blamed for about 4,400 deaths in Florida.
Major Robert Anzueto, representing the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, said deputies will visit a crowded business if they receive complaints that face coverings aren’t in use and social distancing is being ignored.
He said they would be willing to talk with the owner and patrons to persuade their compliance.
“But for us to go out and start issuing citations for $50, $100, $500 for not wearing a mask…I just don’t think that’s going to be beneficial for the county, it’s not going to be beneficial to the agency and it’s just going to cause major issues as we go forward.”
coronavirus