Anna Maria issues emergency order requiring masks. A refusal to wear one could cost you
The city of Anna Maria is ordering people to wear face masks inside businesses and other public establishments amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Holmes Beach, just hours earlier than Anna Maria, enacted an emergency ordinance, while Anna Maria decided on an emergency order that will be revisited weekly. The Holmes Beach ordinance is in effect for at least 60 days before it can be revisited.
Whether to require mask has not come up “yet,” in Anna Maria Island’s third city, Bradenton Beach, according to Mayor John Chappie. “But we have a one-agenda item every Tuesday at 9:15 a.m. in our weekly COVID state of emergency extension meeting. I have not heard any discussion from anyone at all, but it could easily come up.”
The Manatee County Board of Commissioners on two occasions this week rejected enacting similar mandates, instead calling on residents to follow state advisories encouraging the use of masks.
Anna Maria’s emergency order will take effect at 8 a.m. Saturday. Holmes Beach’s ordinance takes effect at 5 p.m. Sunday.
Manatee County and its municipalities have remained under a state of emergency since the pandemic began in March. Anna Maria’s emergency order is in conjunction with that state of emergency.
Violations of the order will cost violators $50.
The emergency order does not apply to outdoor spaces, persons under the age of 2, office space where social distancing is in place and anyone who can show that wearing a face mask is detrimental to an existing health condition.
Face masks are required in local eateries and bars, but can be removed while eating and/or drinking.
Anna Maria, which does not have its own police department, is under the jurisdiction of the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office. Mayor Dan Murphy said code enforcement officers will enforce the order. Sheriff Rick Wells has already stated his deputies would not enforce a face mask mandate.
Anna Maria’s emergency order can be extended, revised or removed at their weekly meetings.