That’s what Vice Mayor Rexann Hosafros says is her experience related to mask wearing. She gave an example of going to a restaurant to pick up food for a neighbor and the staff wasn’t wearing masks about 50% of the time. She says she doesn’t go back to those establishments. “I’m not finding the people know how to behave.”
She also said when she went to CVS last week, in addition to herself and the staff, only one other customer was wearing a mask. “The rest of the people in CVS were maskless. I’m finding people are getting lax. They are not listening to safety measures.”
Mayor Ray Murphy agreed with the Vice Mayor. “When you say people know what to do…all one has to do is look at the highest office in the land. A super-spreader in the Rose Garden for God’s sakes. People do not know what to do, or they just don’t care. I said it before, I’ll say it again. I’m going to do what I think is best for our people down here on the beach to keep them safe and healthy and that’s to keep going in the direction that we’re going. By all indications, we’re being told this is going to get a lot worse before it gets better. They’re predicting this winter, in places, can be catastrophic. And, if it’s going on up north, guess where they’re going to come to get away from it, they’re going to come down to Florida. This is not the time to let down our guard.”
The Mayor then spoke about the town’s mask and social distancing ordinance, which the town has not been enforcing. “I’ve been criticized for making statements about that. You know what, maybe it’s time to start going into these establishments (restaurants) and see whether these ordinances are being followed. Maybe it’s time. If they are not going to follow the law and the disease starts spreading again, well where are we then?”
Murphy went on to say that the disease is exploding again on the east coast. And, he believes if Miami Beach closes down the people that live there will come over here. “And that’s what we’re trying to avoid. We’re trying to keep our people healthy. Not just our citizens, but also our guests. “We’re trying to assure them they are going to be safe when they come down here to visit us.”
Fort Myers Beach has had a mask mandate for months but has not enforced it. Lee County has never had a mask mandate, choosing education over mandates. Governor Ron Desantis issued an Executive Order suspending all fines issued in the state for mask and social distancing violations.
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