Meeting Update
At their Sept. 29 meeting, the Leon County Commissioners voted 5-2 to maintain Phase 2 of Leon County’s reopening plan and allow fall youth sports. Commissioners Mary Ann Lindley and Bill Proctor dissented. The vote comes after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed an executive order pushing the state into Phase 3 last Friday.
The Commissioners voted to allow fall youth sports and use of playgrounds in Leon County with precautions. They will require leagues to submit COVID-19 mitigation plans and enter into agreements with the County.
The Commissioners also upheld the Leon County mask mandate. However, County Attorney Chasity O’Steen confirmed that, due to the executive order, individuals in Leon County cannot be fined for mask violations.
County Administrator Vincent Long said that Leon County has not issued any fines since the mask mandate went into effect in June.
Long noted that though Leon County’s COVID-19 numbers have gone down from a surge in early September, cases are still as high as they were in August.
“That downward trend is coming off of a peak,” he said. “We are still where we were or above where we were when we put in place our strongest mitigation efforts.”
Original article:
After Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed an executive order lifting COVID-19 business restrictions on Friday, Leon County’s COVID-19 regulations are unclear. The Leon County Commissioners had planned to explore options for tightening COVID-19 restrictions at their upcoming meeting on Sept. 29.
At their last meeting, the Commissioners blasted fans who attended Florida State University’s football season opener and did not comply with mask or social distancing requirements. The Commissioners also expressed concerns about other large gatherings like pool parties.
They directed staff to bring back a report on COVID-19 mitigation measures and explore the possibility of extending the mask mandate to cover more circumstances.
Now that the state has moved into Phase 3, it is unclear if the County will be able to uphold its existing mask mandate. Under the executive order, local governments can impose COVID-19 regulations, but they cannot close businesses or fine individuals for violating mask orders.
However, according to Florida Politics, a county government may be able to force businesses to require masks. The language of the governor’s order prevents local governments from fining individuals but does not stop them from fining businesses.
Jon Van Arnam, Deputy County Administrator in Palm Beach, said in an email that Palm Beach has not yet fined any individuals but has focused on business compliance. Van Arnam said Palm Beach can still enforce on businesses in Phase 3.
Under the order, the County still has the power to limit the capacity of businesses, but it will need a clear justification for doing so. Local businesses can also still choose to require masks on their premises.
Leon County Commissioners Vote to Maintain Phase 2 Following Phase 3 Executive Order added by Lexie Pitzen on
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So we don’t have to wear masks..except to go into any business that makes us wear them.
That still doesn’t work for me.?
I have been disgusted by the Leon Co. commission for quite a while now. They are power-tripping fascists. They don’t care about anyone’s health, because if they did, they’d know that masks cannot and do not prevent the spread of COVID. However, there’s power to be had and money to be made if the infection rate goes up, which of course, it will as long as we don’t achieve herd immunity. So yeah, keep voting to keep people in chains, look for ways to add more money to your control structure. Gah. Let’s vote at least five of these people out.
Commissioners earn more for attending 12 meetings a year than some couples earn with both working full time. Commissioners think they know what is best for you…they are liberals. Get used to it. The commissioners do not care if they are destroying businesses…they only want the power. Power to tell you how to live, power to tell you how to run your business and power to take more of your money through more and more taxes.
Nearly commenter here talking about how useless masks are are so confident and so ILL INFORMED.
The science is clear and this has been proven over and over:
—Masks DO NOT effectively prevent a person from contracting COVID
—Mask DO effectively prevent an infected person from infecting others . They contain droplets expelled by an infected person.
This is why it SHOULD NOT be a choice. I can’t protect myself and my children by slapping on a mask if so many pitifully ignorant ppl don’t understand the science behind why we wear them.
What is the point of having a mask mandate the county cannot enforce? If I remember correctly the board was adamant about having fines connected to their mandate.
My dear William Wallace, The point is that businesses will still follow the mandate and make patrons wear masks. So if a person wants to shop for food or eat out then the commissioners will still win.
Why do I keep thinking about the mark of the beast…
Letting private businesses decide to require masks or not is what many have been saying for a while now.
Thank you DeSantis for having a brain. If people would turn off their TVs, we could rid of the real virus.
-9,210 deaths from COVID alone.
-The CDC has a statement on their website stating the “masks do not protect from wildfire smoke”
-Wildfire Smoke: 10ppm
-COVID: 0.1ppm
Yeah, keep wearing your mind control device under the guise of health. Hopefully, you won’t get a throat or lung infection from all the bacteria you are breathing in.
I’m surprised two of the Capital District Kommissars switched. As for the rest of the Kommissars what can you say. They are fulfilling their role of local real fascists and continuing to destroy small and minority businesses by perpetuating this plandemic. These clowns have painted themselves into a corner like all other mask mandating Nazis nationwide. If “cases” went up with no mask mandates they would wail and gnash their teeth demanding more lockdowns, masking in your cars while driving alone and while jogging alone outside. If “cases” went up with mask mandates they will point out they slowed the “spread.” If “cases” went down with mask mandates they will point out mask mandates are working and keep them in place forever. If “cases” went down without mask mandates they will demand them for the upcoming flu season. And all along the panic porn media (we need more clicks!) and criminal Fauci, Birx and Redfield will continue this drumbeat. Meanwhile the wild success of Sweden will be completely ignored along with basic virology 101.
Masks should be up to the individual..it’s a personal healthcare choice. If you want to wear one then you should but don’t try to force it on everyone. This commission is a joke! So is wearing a mask into a restaurant just to take it off at your table. Ridiculous! Like having a peeing section in a swimming pool.
If we had a governor with a brain of his own and knew how to stop trying to please Donald Trump, Florida would be able to recover! But we don’t!
Of course RINO Desloge has handled this like a do-nothing career politician as usual. Time for a change
before desloge was worried about losing to brian welch, he was cursing out residents who asked him about the mask mandate and county sports opening. desloge is a liar and an opportunist politician. now hes holding his hat out begging for more developer cash to save his failing campaign. you sure won’t get it from the residents you have ignored for years.
hope you enjoy your retirement!
The elected nannies and the snowflakes are confused and feeling unclear.
HA HA!!!
I found the Governor’s phase 3 to be pretty clear and without confusion.
Wearing a mask to protect against a viral infection, is like wearing a t-shirt to protect against a bullet. Wear one if it makes you “feel” better about yourself, but don’t expect miracles and stop pretending it matters.
What makes sense at large gathering such as stadiums is to have mask mandatory and mask optional sections. Chaos is in mixing these populations.
You’re talking about a county commission that ignores information like PCR testing threshold-based cause for widespread test invalidity, lack of containment-based exhale filtering PPE at test sites, as none filter sub-.4 micron radically behaving particulate like Covid. The best they have is 4 microns and higher filtration, which does not filter exhaled Covid (.06-1.4 microns) during a plosive respiratory event.
They also did not speak with any surrounding districts before enacting the mandates. This is important because they saw higher concentrations of our people in their stores the very day this was announced, and sweeping this under the rug gives off the attitude that we feel the lives of our people are superior to theirs. We have 30 places to get groceries. They have 2 each.
Furthermore, segregating populations of masked:maskless is the containment-based approach to mitigating contagion. Having mask optional and mask mandatory hours in shared spaces with sanitation protocols between is the easiest way to fully reopen quickly. For schools and nursing homes, do this: https://alachuachronicle.com/using-the-bubble-isolate-concept-to-reopen-schools-without-universal-masking/?fbclid=IwAR34rSDCihZ-NMZfSu59WOnILtVnvCj4A6WlmkT9XjT7zWJYG8hGSBM503I