Stay-at-home order begins Friday. A nighttime curfew in Manatee might come with it
Manatee County public safety and political officials are recommending the county commission enact a curfew to further aid Gov. Ron DeSantis’ stay-at-home order.
The executive order, announced Wednesday, was set to go into effect early Friday morning. It urges people to stay home by only allowing travel to essential businesses. To help with enforcement, the Board of County Commissioners will meet Friday afternoon to consider a 10 p.m.-to-5 a.m. daily nighttime curfew.
An effective date for the new curfew has not been decided. Further details will be discussed at Friday’s meeting, which will be streamed online at www.mymanatee.org/mga.
The proposed curfew would prohibit non-essential travel, which is defined as any trip that isn’t for food, medicine, essential supplies or employment, according to a release from Manatee County Government. It is being proposed by the Emergency Policy Group, which is comprised of the county administrators, local mayors and police chiefs and the sheriff.
“We feel it’s important that the public takes the message seriously and at heart,” Manatee County Public Safety Director Jacob Saur told the Bradenton Herald. “As we move forward with the governor’s executive order, law enforcement has all the tools necessary to enforce this order.”
Saur felt that the curfew was necessary for enforcement of the order.
“We’re concerned about the possibility of some of the public not adhering to the governor’s order and the seriousness of it,” Saur said. “Now is the time to stay home. There is nothing to do. There is nothing open. And we want to make sure law enforcement has what they need.”
The decision to consider a curfew comes just one day after DeSantis issued the statewide stay-at-home executive order set to go into effect at 12:01 a.m. Friday.
If commissioners approve the curfew, any violation could result in someone being charged with a second-degree misdemeanor.
The list of essential business is a long one. DeSantis based the list on Miami-Dade County’s definition, which includes pet stores, hardware stores, gas stations, banks, grocery stores, pharmacies and much more. As a matter of practicality, officers won’t be able to ask where every person driving on the road is headed.
In essence, the statewide stay-at-home order is the codification of what local officials have been suggesting for weeks — stay at home unless you absolutely have to go out. Even then, social distancing rules still apply. That was a necessary step to make, said Saur, who said he felt that Manatee residents haven’t been listening to guidance from public health and safety officials.
“With the stay-at-home order from DeSantis, the public should take that to heart and look at that the intent of it is. You should be staying home and limiting your exposure,” he said. “That’s the important message here, and I don’t believe the public has taken that message to heart yet.”
This story was originally published April 2, 2020 at 3:54 PM.
