Workers Must Wear Masks Mayor Orders, Disagrees With DeSantis

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — As coronavirus cases continue to increase across the city of St. Petersburg, Mayor Rick Kriseman signed an order that requires to all employees to wear masks while in areas of any business open to the public. The order takes effect at 5 p.m. on Friday, June 19.

The mayor made the announcement on the city's Facebook Live broadcast Wednesday afternoon.

Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday in a press conference that the reason numbers have increased across the state is because of nursing homes, migrant workers, prison and jails.

DeSantis referred to migrant workers as he said, "When you have workers like that, they’re living in really close confines. Sometimes multi-generational. But the real close extended contact in those living conditions is conducive for having this spread."

Kriseman said that the governor is wrong about coronavirus cases in nursing homes, migrant workers, prisons and jails causing the spread in St. Pete.

"St. Pete's community spread is largely due to young adults letting their guard down," said Kriseman. "The data and the many closures of our downtown bars and restaurants paint a clear picture for us. Now last week county commissioner Ken Welch said folks seem to have gotten the wrong message, that reopening means business as usual. And I agree with the commissioner.

"As I've said time and again, restarting St. Pete doesn't get us back to normal or business as usual. It gets us back to a new normal that may exist for many months, if not years," Kriseman said.

The mayor's order has common sense exceptions for medical conditions, he said.

"Violation of this order is a municipal ordinance violation — can result in financial or other business operations-related sanctions," Kriseman said.

He asked the city attorney's office to draft an order requiring that all residents wear a mask when entering businesses or other indoor places shared by groups of people. Customers may remove their mask when seated at a restaurant to eat and drink. The order starts Father's Day weekend.

As of June 17, the Florida Department of Health reported that Pinellas County has 483 coronavirus hospitalizations; 2,684 confirmed coronavirus cases and 110 deaths.

Across the state, the health department reported 82,719 confirmed coronavirus cases; 3,018 deaths and 12,389 coronavirus hospitalizations.

For more information on the coronavirus cases in your St. Pete zip code, check the Florida Department of Health website.e