Face masks have been mandatory in Leon County business establishments since June 25, 2020, after the Leon County Commission passed an emergency ordinance in response to an uptick in positive COVID-19 tests in the county.
Leon County Commission Chair Bryan Desloge said the goal of the mask order was to stop or slow the spread of COVID-19. He said the County Commissioners based their unanimous decision on sources including local hospital CEOs, university presidents, and Capital Health Plan.
“They all said this was the single thing that we could do that would have an impact,” Desloge said.
Desloge also noted that Florida Medical Association President Dr. Ronald Giffler had issued a statement urging local governments to require people to wear masks in public.
Desloge said the mask order will be lifted once key indicators of COVID-19 spread have decreased.
“When some of the key indicators, like how many new positive patients do we have, how many people do we have in the hospital, how many admits do we have into the hospital, that type of thing, when those start to level off and start to tail off, then we’ll absolutely remove [the order],” he said.
Desloge said the positive test rate is the leading indicator of whether or not the order has been successful. He said hospitalizations and deaths are lagging indicators.
“By the time you get to the hospital and you’re in the ICU or you pass away, that’s the far end of the spectrum,” he said. “Probably, the more leading indicator is how many positive test cases we have in the county.”
According to data reported July 6, Leon County has surpassed 1,800 positive coronavirus cases. Approximately 35,000 people have been tested, eight deaths have been reported and currently there are 43 people hospitalized in Leon County due to COVID-19.
Desloge encouraged people to continue to practice social distancing when necessary, wash their hands properly, and wear masks when in public.
“I tell people, listen, you can stay at home and drink as much as you want, but the minute you get behind a car wheel, you’re breaking the law,” he said. “You don’t have to wear a mask, except for when you’re in public and interfacing with other people in the public. It’s what I would consider a minor inconvenience and hopefully will save some lives.”
TR EXCLUSIVE: Leon County Commission Chairman Desloge Discusses Mask Ordinance, COVID Numbers added by Lexie Pitzen on
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https://twitter.com/DiamondandSilk/status/1280170139565150210
trying to stop covid with a mask is like using a chain link fence to keep out mosquitos
AMA CDC NIH have all flip flopped on lockdowns & masks repeatedly thru this year
Funny they weren’t worried about masks and conferring with brilliant medical minds like hospital CEOs and university presidents when Obamer and Joe the Retard/ crook/ RICO king kept their mouths shut during swine flu……#STAYCLASSYSCUMBAGCITY
My body my right
Desloge and all the county Kommissars should do more homework. According to the CDC’s own website:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/testing/serology-overview.html
“What do your results mean?
If you test positive
A positive test result shows you may have antibodies from an infection with the virus that causes COVID-19. However, THERE IS A CHANCE A POSITIVE RESULT means that you have antibodies from an infection with a virus from the same family of viruses (called coronaviruses), such as the one that causes the COMMON COLD.” (emphasis added)
So, mask up until a cure for the common cold is found or we have a 100% infection rate. Well done county Komissars!! VOTE THEM ALL OUT!!!
Agree & continue to be d-i,-s-g-u-s-t-e-d with many whose EYES are useless because their MINDS are BLIND or miniscule!
Comparing this to DUI laws is preposterous. First this is not a law nor is it based on real scientific data. If he can’t give us a level that triggered this “order” and can’t give us the level at which it will be rescinded then it is not about science it’s about control. Looking at the amount of positives without looking at the amount of tests is meaningless. The order doesn’t say you have to wear a mask when you are in public it says you have to wear one when you are inside. Does he not know what is in the order that he signed or are they already moving the goalposts? VOTE THEM ALL OUT!
You figured it out, Fed Up. They cannot point to specific criteria that triggered the mask ordinance so there is no criteria other than “when they feel like it” that will cause the ordinance to be cancelled. So, when is the election?
RINO Deslodge you can play the political virus for all its worth and your silly games will not help get Biden elected.
Especially now in the states that allow Kanyea West to run. West is in the game to pull all the minority votes away from Biden.
Expecting a mask to prevent a viral infection, is like expecting a t-shirt to prevent a bullet wound. Wear them if you choose, but don’t expect a miracle.
Did he say stop the virus? That’s not gonna happen anytime soon. Be real! A week after the first FSU football game, we will most likely have huge spikes again. So does this mean we are in masks forever?
Also, not to mention, we’ve been in masks for almost 2 weeks under the mandate, and if the masks were working, the numbers would be decreasing.
For whatever reason, TR never publishes the number of people that have been tested in Leon County – only those testing positive. However, I can tell you that since June 6th, according to the report published by DOH every day, 20,893 people have been tested, and 1,415 of those have tested positive. That’s a positivity rate of only 6.7%.
By the way, I’m not sure how TR is calculating the number of hospitalizations. There seems to be a disconnect between the .pdf report published by DOH every day and DOH’s Dashboard. I’ve reached out to a friend who works at DOH to see if I can determine the reason for different numbers. Regardless, it’s still extremely low as compared with the rest of the state.
Also, I thought that TR said last week that DOH would start publishing the number of “current” hospitalizations, not just a running total since the beginning.
“With regards to testing, the report indicates that 35,011 people have been tested and 33,066 of the tests were negative in Leon County. This translates to a 5.3% positive test rate. The state-wide positive test rate was reported as 9.2%.” https://tallahasseereports.com/2020/07/03/leon-county-florida-covid-19-numbers-updated-april-13th/
“According to data reported July 6, Leon County has surpassed 1,800 positive coronavirus cases. ”
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Out of how many Tested? Hasn’t the number of people Tested gone up drastically as well?
The number of tested as of today is approximately 35,000. We added it to the story.
The positive rate had been under 2 for a long time. It is now over 5%. Yes some of that could just be more testing or even that people who are having symptoms are getting tested, but it also means higher percentages of those who are out and about in our community and getting to the testing sites are infected. Masks, 20 sec handwashing/sanitizing, and social distancing are needed (as well as better ability to trace contacts).
Except at
“ The Downtown Market will now require vendors to wear face coverings, remain 6 feet apart and space their booths in 8 to 10 foot increments. Tape will be used to mark a 6 foot pathway for patrons to walk. Masks will be provided but patrons will not be required to wear masks.” Hmmm?
And there you have it.
A photo of BRINO and Mayor Flinstone telling everyone masks are mandatory WHILE THEY AREN’T WEARING MASKS!
These hypocrites HAVE TO GO!
LOL! All of Leon County commissioners are paid by Soros in the “Little Bootlickers” club. What a joke.
Hear hear! He has been at the feeding trough far too long. Let’s not forget that in November.