Shoppers, diners should still expect masks, limits
Even though Gov. Ron DeSantis has pulled back coronavirus restrictions in Florida, many Orlando stores and restaurants are planning to continue mandating masks and limits on how many people can be inside.
DeSantis on Friday removed capacity restrictions on bars and restaurants and prohibited local governments from collecting fines stemming from pandemic rules.
Yet, major retailers that include Publix and CVS have not changed their company-wide policies that customers wear masks. Likewise, local spots such as The Lovely Boutique Market in Audubon Park will continue to limit the number of shoppers inside and require masks.
“We as a business owner will stick with that until we say differently,” said Kimberly Hellstrom, The Lovely’s owner. “Our health is a lot more important than anything else.”
Dining out
In response to a question at a Clearwater news conference Tuesday, DeSan
tis said he was “confident restaurants want to have a safe environment.”
He said he would not allow businesses to be completely shut down but that he would defer to local governments who might want to limit capacity. His executive order says local governments would have to justify doing that before they could act.
Se7enbites, a breakfast and lunch spot on Primrose Drive in Orlando, posted on Facebook that it would continue its precautions, including that masks must be worn except for when people are seated and eating.
“We as the owners of our businesses have the right and the ethical responsibility to act in a manner we find fitting to our business, and we can make choices for our own business regardless of what allowances or rules are being lifted,” the Friday post said.
Trina Gregory-Propst, who owns the restaurant with her wife, Va Propst, said the post was about setting people’s expectations.
“It simply has to do with the health and safety of my staff and my building,” Gregory-Propst said.
Keeping the same rules also provides consistency for the staff at Se7enbites.
“That’s what we don’t want to have, to keep going back and forth with what is and isn’t going to happen,” Gregory-Propst said.
Darden Restaurants spokesman Rich Jeffers said there are no significant changes for the Orlandobased company that owns Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse and other chain restaurants.
“We will continue to follow the safety protocols we have in place, which follow CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] guidelines,” Jeffers said. “These include continuing to configure our dining rooms for social distancing, daily team member health monitoring, all team members wearing masks, frequent handwashing, and maintaining our enhanced cleaning procedures.”
Darden will also continue to “support local guidance on mask-wearing,” Jeffers said.
Orange County’s mask mandate never carried fines and remains in place. While DeSantis’ order means Seminole and Osceola counties can’t fine people for not wearing masks, officials said neither had actually levied fines.
Shopping with masks
Lakeland-based Publix announced in July that shoppers would be required to wear masks at its more than 1,250 grocery stores.
CVS, which has more than 9,900 pharmacies, also said that month masks would be mandatory in its stores.
Neither retailer had changed their mask rules this week.
“We have made no changes to our current policies in light of the Phase 3 announcement,” said Publix spokeswoman Maria Brous.
At The Lovely Boutique Market, 21-year-old Brandon Dillen and his friend, 20-year-old Alana Fouché, liked that the shop was continuing its safety precautions.
“We can all live our lives as long as we all take the right precautions to do it,” Dillen said.
“It makes me want to shop there more,” Fouché added.
“If they didn’t have it, I definitely would not want to be going inside and putting myself at risk.”
Hellstrom said The Lovely will follow CDC guidance and continue to allow only10 shoppers, with masks, in the store at a time.
“Until science tells me differently, we’re going to abide by the rules,” she said.