UPDATE
When asked by TR if people can travel to restaurants for take-out, Leon County Commissioner Desolge responded, “Yes – business as usual (under current orders) – curfew 11-5, law enforcement now has the right to disperse groups.”
Original Report
Today, Leon County Commission Chairman Bryan Desloge, with the support of Mayor John Dailey, announced a “stay at home” order for Leon County and City of Tallahassee residents. He also announced a curfew from 11:00 PM to 5:00 AM. The order takes effect Wednesday at 11 p.m.
Desolge said the purpose of the order is to blunt the transmission of COVID-19 in Leon County.
The order encourages everyone to stay at home unless conducting essential activities. Desloge said these activities include ensuring the health and safety of others, obtaining necessary supplies, engaging in work, taking care of others, and responsibly engaging in out door activities.
Desloge said “we are not requiring any businesses to close”, indicating both non-essential and essential businesses can operate. However, Desloge also said people should only leave home for the essentials.
The order directs law enforcement to disperse crowds of ten or more. A failure to comply can result in fines.
TR was told the actual order will be released by 6 PM.
Official Order
Leon County Issues Stay-at-Home Order to Take Effect Wednesday at 11 p.m.
Consistent with local, state, and national health expert guidance strongly encouraging social distancing and limiting public gatherings, Leon County has issued a stay-at-home order effective Wednesday, March 25 at 11 p.m. for all County and City residents. With the order in place, businesses can remain open, people can still travel for essential activities, and families can still walk the dog and visit parks with social distancing in mind. The order does not close any business, stop people from buying groceries, or confine families to their homes.
“Compared to other Florida counties affected by the novel coronavirus, Leon County has relatively few cases, and we must continue to protect our health and safety,” said Leon County Commission Chairman Bryan Desloge. “Issued by the County and supported by the City, this stay-at-home order is another proactive step in stopping the spread. A business owner can still keep the lights on and a family can still walk the dog, but we are encouraging everyone to do their part and stay home whenever possible.”
Announced at a joint County-City press conference today, the specific stay-at-home order will be distributed early Wednesday and does the following:
- Strongly encourages all County and City residents to remain at home unless conducting essential activities like ensuring health and safety, obtaining necessary supplies, engaging in work, taking care of others, and responsibly engaging in outdoor recreation;
- Authorizes law enforcement to disperse any crowd of more than 10 people, which may include criminal charges or fines;
- Establishes a curfew from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. beginning Wednesday night to ensure social distance is maintained and larger groups do not gather. Under the curfew, residents may conduct essential activities such as going to work and ensuring health and safety;
- Strongly encourages all businesses to conduct social distancing measures in their shopping areas and in storefronts, which can be achieved by limiting the number of shoppers, staggering hours, or other approaches that work best for the community and local businesses to limit the transmission of COVID-19.
“Tailored to the needs of our community, today’s order further reinforces the County’s focused approach on meeting this public health emergency head-on,” said Leon County Administrator Vincent S. Long. “The order reflects where we are today in addressing this pandemic, and we will continue to exercise every possible mitigation strategy in the future.”
The stay-at-home-order is in alignment with the objectives of local, state, and national health experts to limit the transmission of COVID-19 by using social and physical distancing, limiting large gatherings, and protecting our most vulnerable populations such as the elderly from any exposure to infection.
For additional information on COVID-19, the Florida Department of Health has activated a 24/7 COVID-19 call center at (866) 779-6121. Leon County residents can also call the County Health Department at (850) 404-6300, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Also, the best resource for Florida-specific COVID-19 information remains the following FDOH website: www.FLHealth.gov/COVID-19.
Significant updates can always be found updated real-time at www.LeonCountyFL.gov/EI . The County Emergency Information Portal has the most up-to-date and timely critical information right from the Emergency Operations Center.
Meanwhile, the driving texters go merrily on, but don't get caught out after curfew.
Deslodge is being a neo-Bolshevik punk and doesn't have the legal authority for this kind of order. Neither does the mayor. I hope the Mayor is a 1 termer over this and the County Commission is swept out next election.
Govt never lets a crisis go to waste! Every time there is fear in the public, the politicians know those are the times the people are more likely to accept the destruction of their liberty. Unless the people stand up, this will only get worse!
Disregard the government and disobey the curfew #TallyFlashMob2020
This is what you get from living in a liberal county.
Reading between the lines Of the stay at home order and curfew, , I’m betting our student population and other young adults, as witnessed by recent spring breakers, are probably partying around town, and not recognizing the danger they are putting themselves and others in. Although the mortality with the virus is apparently lower for their age group, the long term devastating effects to their lungs remains of considerable concern.
I’m not at all happy with the spending, given our current deficit and debt levels.. but I recognize the need for the fiscal “rescue and recovery” effort being contemplated. I believe we will indeed recover quickly as a result of two primary factors. One is the focus of a strong leader in President Trump, and two is the perseverance of a strong Nation and it’s citizens.
But regardless of exactly how and when we all recover, I believe it is imperative and completely just that it begin by the United States - and every country for that matter - tearing up every piece of debt paper we/they have from China, and calling it square. Let’s call it “reparations”, for the damage their egregious and nefarious malfeasance has caused this Great Nation and the world.
Before you start spewing the Numbers of people that have already died this Year of the FLU, Think about how much that number could have been had we not have the Medications we have now to combat the Flu.
Great point Tony. However, despite the excellent Flu medications we're all thankful for,
the fact remains that the Flu STILL has killed far, far more Americans than the C-virus has,
and that happens yearly in America every Flu season. Speaking purely from a death rate standpoint, the Flu is far more dangerous - even with decades of medical experience and science greatly mitigating that death rate. Not minimizing the danger or death rate from C-virus at all, but despite the daunting yearly Flu death rate, we don't shut down or "lockdown" America every year.
We should be cautious (wash hands etc.), NOT panicked. Effective medications are already in trials, and America will be back up and economy roaring again after this is over.
They really need to clarify this better and Separate the two into two different Press Briefings. One for the "Stay At Home" order and one for the "Curfew" order. I read it as two different and people were telling me that the "Stay At Home" order was for the "Curfew" order that during 11pm to 5am, you are to Stay At Home and after that you are allowed to go out. I was right because when I got to work today, there were only two other Cars in the huge Parking Lot......LOL.
"...ensuring the health and safety of others, obtaining necessary supplies, engaging in work, taking care of others, and responsibly engaging in out door activities." - I'm embarrassed to admit this is a pretty complete description of my life for the last 20 years. I don't know what to think about this. Maybe I should get out more often?
For those who’ve wondered what absolute government control - aka: Socialism/Communism - really looks like... take a look around. We’ll tell you when you can open your business and when to close it, we’ll tell you when to go to work and when to go home, we’ll tell you when/where and what you can eat, we’ll dictate your survival, and we’ll even tell you how many family and visitors you can have in your (for now) home.
You thought it was just Bernie?... think again folks
Is this even legal? There is absolutely nothing in the community to justify there actions. Except perhaps the idiotic hoarding that is happening.
I will not be intimidated into hiding in my home. If I want to go out, I will go out.
I appreciate your opinion, but I do not believe my comment was either hot-headed or loose. Furthermore, I believe the “order” to unnecessary, shortsighted, and motivated by political expediency. Additionally, it will likely start a chain-reaction of “they did it, why haven’t you” politically-motivated copycat orders around the state.
BTW: An order neither “encourages” or “strongly encourages” anyone to do anything... it “orders” them to do as “ordered”. So the semantic game is insulting on top of that.
I too read something somewhere, that went like this... "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
... just my thoughts, and thank you for sharing yours.
Why are the illiberal politicians, counties & states the ones pushing for a total shutdown?
The answer is obvious.
Great point, Maven. The FL Leftist-liberals are fanning the flames of fear & hysteria, hoping more conservative cities and counties will have to do likewise, for "appearances". Most of this is way overblown, the CDC estimates the Flu has ALREADY killed 12,000 Americans by Feb. 1 of 2020. About 60% of this C-virus mess is cause for caution, the other 40% is just the MSM ginning up hysteria for political gain.
Gee, a remarkable coincidence: Just yesterday the website Trending Politics.com posted a story that the NY Times "demands" (!!) that Pres. Trump "declare a national lockdown."
Why? The article says this:
"To the unhinged left, the worst possible outcome of the coronavirus crisis would be for President Trump to save the economy and emerge stronger than before.
This a large reason why the national media has been working overtime to create a state of national hysteria and to savagely attack the president at every turn.
To the left, chaos is the goal and the longer that it goes on, the better for the Democrats."
So, of course all Liberals need to follow the NY Times orders in lock-step. I was counting the days until the COT obeyed the directives.
link:
https://trendingpolitics.com/new-york-times-demands-that-trump--declare-a-national-lockdown/
"As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today."
Make no mistake, some very bad people meant this virus for absolute evil. Whenbthe truth is all unraveled in the future, we will see that evil men designed this virus to kill many. Good men stood in the gap, and unbeknownst to the bad actors, neutralized the threat to something very fairly benign. Have faith, the truth will come out. Charles Lieber in deep deep doodoo, regardless of what the MSM will sell you. (Ft. Detrick-USA/
Vector Lab in Russia) More recognizable names to come in near future.
Jethro, a little cynical, but we still love you.
These evil pieces of sh*t meant to do you and your loved ones unimaginable harm. God means it for good, for we know that all things work to the good for those that love God and are called according to His purpose.
The greatest military operation In American History is unfolding before your eyes, would you ever believe it?
for those that like to dig, here is what some very bad people had in store for you.
"The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in partnership with the World Economic Forum and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation hosted Event 201, a high-level pandemic exercise on October 18, 2019, in New York, NY. The exercise illustrated areas where public/private partnerships will be necessary during the response to a severe pandemic in order to diminish large-scale economic and societal consequences."
Watch/ listen to the videos, especially session 4 if your time is limited.
Nothing can stop what is coming- Nothing.
Who is propagating the virus between 11pm and 5am? This is poppycock.
Holton St. and the D-Block in FrenchTown. Probably a slow roll-out for lockdown soon. If we gonna do it, lets get it on. Some of us ready to get back to work, sooner the better.
And the Tennessee Strip, too. College kids think they gonna live forever.
Uhm... what college kids?
Based on Comrade Deslodge's curfew, it will be LCSO and TPD serving as the virus vectors on random interpersonal interactions.
The Police State has arrived. You had better ignore toilet paper, and start stocking up on ammo.
Hope you keep a cooler head while deciding whether to brandish or not. I think I read somewhere the man don't bear the sword for nothin'. Jus' sayin', when the time comes for that, you'll know, and we ain't there yet. Reason and logic must rule for now, tensions are high for loose talk.
EXACTLY.
What's next?
Mayor Flintstone and The Oxygenator ride-alongs with TeePeeDee, stopping cars?
"Papers!
Show me your papers!"
I hope someone gets arrested and files a civil liberties class action.
Unleash the ACLU lawyers!