Sheriff Cracks Down On Bars, Eateries Flouting Coronavirus Rules

PINELLAS COUNTY, FL — Faced with a surge in coronavirus cases that rivals the peak numbers seen in June, Pinellas County Administrator Barry Burton and Sheriff Bob Gualtieri are dropping the hammer on restaurants and bars that flout coronavirus mandates.

During a new conference Thursday afternoon, Gualtieri said restaurant and bar owners who refuse comply could land in court and possibly face criminal charges.

As of Wednesday, Pinellas County had 33,857 residents test positive for coronavirus since the pandemic begin in March with 2,902 of those residents hospitalized. The Florida Department of Health reported that 915 residents have died in Pinellas County since March.

On Wednesday, Pinellas had 362 new cases, the highest number reported in the past month.

Of particular concern, said Burton, is the rising number of hospital cases. Pinellas County has 11 hospitals that accept coronavirus patients with a limited number of intensive care beds available at each.

This week, Mease Countryside Hospital was at 66.67 percent capacity in its ICU; Northside Hospital was at 52.27 percent capacity, Kindred Hospital St. Petersburg was at 37.5 percent capacity, St. Anthony's Hospital was at 23.68 capacity and Mease Dunedin Hospital was at 20 percent capacity.

Burton said he's been told by health officials that "by February, we will stress our hospital capacity."

He believes the increased numbers are the result of people becoming complacent.

"We’ve taken our foot off the gas and seen people go back to more normal patterns," Burton said. "We need a renewed effort. People need to go back to using masks and social distancing, We're asking everyone to double down on the efforts we started."

"We have a problem," Gualtieri said. "I'm very concerned about the upward trend. I can tell you as someone who's had COVID, it's not fun. We understand that people are exhausted and tired but, if we don't change the course, we'll end up in a bad place."

Gualtieri said the majority of Pinellas County retail businesses are complying with coronavirus mandates.

"We have really great compliance from retail businesses at large. We haven’t had to issue any citiations, just give some nudges," he said.

However, he plans to start cracking down on the biggest offenders: bars and restaurants.

From Nov. 13 to 15 Pinellas County sheriff's deputies checked 2,800 bars and restaurants in Pinellas County, some multiple times to make sure the violation they witnessed "wasn't a one-off," said Gualtieri.

"What we found is 40 percent of bars and 8 percent of restaurants were not in compliance," he said.

Although dancing is prohibited, Gualtieri produced photos of packed dance floors.

While no food can be served to anyone who isn't seated, Gualtieri showed photos of people standing around a crowded bar, eating and drinking.

Deputies found crowds of more than 10 people gathered at tables, tables closer than 6 feet apart and both employees and customers wearing no masks.

"Wearing a mask is not fun but the alternative is worse," said Gualtieri. "We saw a lot of staff and patrons not wearing masks."

He believes one of the reasons people are flouting the rules is they think the county ordinance has no teeth; that they can't be penalized.

While it's true that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has suspended fines and penalties for infractions by individuals, Gualtieri said business owners are being held to a higher standard. They could face a $100 fine for a first offense, a $250 fine for a second offense and a $500 fine for three or more offenses, "and those fines could rack up."

"I have no interest in going down an enforcement route and issuing violations," said Gualtieri. "So I'm asking bar and restaurant owners to step up."

On Friday, sheriff's deputies and police from the county's incorporated cities will visit bars and restaurants to distribute window and door signs to reemphasize the ongoing mandates.

"It will nudge the business owners to remind the customers because the onus is on the businesses to comply," he said.

"After we distribute the signs and engage in an education campaign, we're going to go back and check again," Gualtieri said. "If we find some businesses that aren't trying to do the right thing; they're just ignoring it; they're just defiant; they're just saying, 'To heck with it, I'm not going to do it and I don't care,'" then they're just going to force us. We won't go back to where we were in June where we saw 15 to 16 percent positivity, where the health care system was overloaded."

After the signs have been distributed and law enforcement has reiterated the rules, "we’re going to go out and check again, and if they don’t get in compliance, we’ll consider where we go from there," Gualtieri said. "We have the ability to go to court and seek an injunction. That gives the courts tremendous powers to enforce the ordinance. And, potentially, we could seek criminal charges. I don't want to go there. I just hope everyone does the right thing."