Back in January of 2021 before the historic roll out of vaccines in the United States, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings discussed safety measures he was taking to keep constituents safe. He initiated ‘COVID Strike Teams’ which would inspect businesses to see if they were maintaining coronavirus safety measures.
As Orange County approached 52,000 coronavirus cases, 11 bars in one day were found to not have no face masks, no social distancing, no hand sanitizers and no disinfecting. The strike teams had saw 86% compliance in visits to 4,910 businesses. Businesses were instructed on ways they can operate their business more safely and if they remained repeat offenders they were fined.
People who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 do not need to wear masks or practice social distancing indoors or outdoors, except under certain circumstances, the director of the CDC announced May 13, 2021. “If you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing the things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky said during a White House Covid-19 briefing. “We have all longed for this moment when we can get back to some sense of normalcy.”
On May 12, 2021, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed an executive order, which essentially dissolved Orange County’s Strike Teams of authority. “I find it somewhat hypocritical that the governor provided clemency for fines or violations of local laws but let stand fines imposed by the state of Florida. Frankly, that simply is not right,” Demings said. He has decided to lift mask requirements outdoors but said the county needs to reach a 70 percent vaccination rate before masks can be removed indoors too. The 70 percent vaccination rate is an ambitious goal for the area as inoculations have slowed.
Since late last year, Orange County’s Strike Teams have fined 28 businesses for not following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. Under the governor’s new order, none of those businesses will have to pay those fines. “There is nothing unprecedented about local governments trying to provide for and protect its residents during a pandemic,” Demings said. Demings says the Strike Teams have helped boost compliance in businesses to 99% countywide. “We’re going to still send our Strike Teams out and we will still maintain a list of those who are non-compliant,” Demings said.
On May 13, 2021 Florida Governor Ron DeSantis issued an executive order granting pardons to Florida residents and businesses charged with violating local COVID-19 safety protocols. The executive order covers criminal penalties for things like refusing to practice social distancing or adhering to mask mandates. Jerry Demings wife, Val Demings is considering running for the Florida Governors position to unseat the incumbent, Ron DeSantis.