Manatee Commission votes 4-3 to end nighttime curfew meant to limit spread of COVID-19
A local curfew will no longer take effect every night at 11 p.m. after the Manatee Board of County Commissioners voted 4-3 to remove the safety measure meant to limit the spread of COVID-19.
That Tuesday morning vote went against the recommendation of public safety officials who said the curfew order helped keep residents at home. Sheriff Rick Wells previously said that the curfew helped bring attention to the statewide stay-at-home order issued by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Commissioners Stephen Jonsson, Priscilla Whisenant Trace, Vanessa Baugh and Betsy Benac voted to end the curfew. Commissioners Misty Servia, Reggie Bellamy and Carol Whitmore voted against the proposal.
The board first voted to enact the curfew on April 3. It took effect every night from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m.
Public Safety Director Jake Saur urged commissioners to extend the curfew another seven days, citing an uptick in cases and deaths since the board’s last meeting on Friday afternoon.
“As far a peak goes, that’s exceedingly difficult. Some projections say the peak has passed, and I disagree with that,” Saur explained.
County Administrator Cheri Coryea pointed out that the percentage of Manatee residents who have tested positive is the highest in the Tampa Bay area.
With the stay-at-home order still in effect, some commissioners argued that the local order was redundant.
“The curfew serves no purpose at all, as we know it today,” said Baugh.
However, that statewide order is set to expire on April 30. It isn’t clear whether DeSantis plans to extend that order, and that may require Manatee to reconsider a local curfew again, Benac said.
“Everyone has said the only way to slow this virus is by staying at home. That’s what I said then,” Benac explained. “That’s what I said now. I don’t think we need the curfew because the governor’s order says to stay home.”
“If the governor releases everyone in the entire state, we are not like the rest of the state, so we may need to talk about it again,” she added.
Other board members said ending the curfew will send a mixed message to residents who may take the news as an indication that the situation is improving.
“I represent the district with some of the highest numbers. I represent those people and I have to try to protect them,” Servia said. “We have to get through this peak and it is not the time to send the wrong message to the public.”
On Tuesday morning, the Department of Health announced five new cases of COVID-19 in Manatee County, as well as another death, bringing the county’s total to 437 positive cases and 34 deaths — the fourth-highest death toll in Florida.
Commissioners urged the public to still follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for social distancing and Florida’s stay-at-home order, which is still active.
This story was originally published April 21, 2020 at 11:17 AM.
