10,000 signatures reached
To: Governor Ron DeSantis
Florida needs Mandatory Masking NOW
Take immediate and direct action to stop the spread of COVID-19 in Florida, including mandating mask wearing in all indoor shared spaces. We also call on you to shut down businesses that are not in compliance with COVID-19 safety procedures, increase availability of testing and contact tracing statewide, and ensure accurate data on the disease is available to the public.
Why is this important?
Florida needs a statewide masking mandate now to combat the rapidly spreading influence of the UK (B.1.1.7) variant. A statewide masking mandate will not only protect Floridians, but the rest of the nation.
Florida has the most confirmed COVID cases of the UK variant in the country by far. The variant is 35% to 45 % more transmissible than the original COVID virus. Even with the alarming rise in variant cases, the true number is undoubtedly far greater as genome sequencing (which determines the strain of COVID of an individual case) is expensive and rare.
Despite the still raging pandemic, Florida has reopened for tourism, hosting the Super Bowl and now has become the epicenter of the B.1.1.7 strain. As tourists leave Florida to return home, they will likely take the UK variant of COVID with them. “This isn’t just a Florida problem right now — it’s potentially an everywhere problem,” Robert Bednarczyk, a public health expert and assistant professor at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health said.
There is a SMART way to keep the COVID cases in check until a greater portion of the population can be vaccinated, but it requires more genomic sequencing, increasing availability of testing, clear vaccination policies and adequate and accurate data that informs our every step. This only begins when face masks are mandated indoors statewide for all who are able.
Even in light of the rapid spread of the UK variant in Florida , Governor Ron DeSantis has refused to take any meaningful action. We call on Governor DeSantis to mandate masks statewide -- and take the other steps outlined above -- to slow the spread of this virus and keep Floridians safe.
Photo credit: Tens of thousands of people gathered on 7th Ave. in Ybor City after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 55 on Monday, Feb. 8, 2021 in Ybor City. [ LUIS SANTANA | Times ]
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