Face masks now required in Daytona Beach; Brevard County could follow
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - With Daytona Beach now requiring face masks in public, Brevard County is looking at putting a mask mandate in place, too. It will be proposed at the Brevard County Commission meeting on Tuesday.
Brevard Commissioner Bryan Lober says he is concerned about the rise in COVID-19 cases in the state.
"If we do nothing and the numbers continue to go up," Lober said. "That’s something that’s a very real risk and I cannot sit idly by."
The order would require everyone in Brevard County to wear a mask while they're inside public spaces and businesses except when someone is eating or exercising.
"I think this is the least restrictive thing that we can put in place that has any real chance of achieving the goal of keeping the numbers down," Lober said.
RELATED: Florida smashes single-day record again with another 9,585 new coronavirus cases
Florida broke the single-day record for the second day in a row with 9,585 new cases on Saturday. Lober said many medical professionals on the front lines reached out to him saying they're extremely worried.
"It’s not an immediate concern, but it’s something that if we don’t do something unless there’s a profound change in the numbers," he said. "We’re facing a situation where the hospitals may not be able to provide service in a month to six weeks. I can tell you I’ve had physicians plead with me yesterday [Friday] to do something because they are using language on what would potentially cause panic."
Daytona Beach is the latest city to implement a mask mandate. It went into effect Sunday at 12:01 a.m.
Orange County and Osceola County already have mask orders in place.
RELATED: Gov. Ron DeSantis says he will not make face masks mandatory, says it would 'backfire'
The mask order in Brevard County will be proposed on Tuesday and could go into place as early as Wednesday.
"We really have to do this because the next step if this doesn’t work is going to have a much more profound impact on the economy or public health," Lober said. "I don’t want to do either of those things if they’re avoidable."
Despite pressure from Democrats, Governor Ron DeSantis has refused to issue a statewide mask ordinance.