2021-004 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

ORDINANCE NO. 2021-004 WHEREAS, the CDC, the Florida Department of Health and the University of Florida recommend the use of face coverings, including those which are homemade to. slow the spread of the disease; and WHEREAS, in a recent United States Supreme Court Case, the Court denied injunctive relief where California limited attendance at places of worship due to COVID- 19. Chief Justice Roberts described COVID-19 as "a novel severe acute respiratory illness that has killed... more than 100,000 nationwide" and noted that "(a)t this time there is no known cure, no effective treatment, and no vaccine" and "(b)ecause people may be infected but asymptomatic, they may unwittingly infect others." Chief Justice Roberts also stated the precise question of when restrictions on particular social activities should be lifted during the pandemic is a dynamic and fact -intensive matter subject to reasonable disagreement. Our Constitution principally entrusts '(t)he safety and the health of the people' to the politically accountable officials of the States' to guard and protect' ... When those officials'undertakeo to act in areas fraught with medical and scientific uncertainties, 'their latitude' must be especially broad.' ... Where those broad limits are not exceeded, they should not be subject to second-guessing by 'an unelected federal judiciary,' which lacks the background, competence, and expertise to assess public health and is not accountable to the people." S. Bay United Pentecostal Church v. Newsom, 140 S. Ct. 1613; and WHEREAS, Alachua County issued Emergency Order 2020-21 requiring face masks in certain circumstances. The County's Emergency Order was challenged in State Circuit Court and in Federal District Court. Both Courts issued Orders denying Plaintiffs' Emergency Motions for Temporary Injunction. In denying the request for temporary injunction, State Circuit Judge Donna M. Keim stated, "The protection of the safety and welfare of the public is inherent in the role of local government ... The requirement to wear a facial covering during the,limited circumstances set forth in the ordinance is a minimal inconvenience; and, its benefits to the public in potentially reducing the spread of COVID- 19 outweighs any inconvenience." "Here, there is a global pandemic involving COVID- 19, a virus which the CDC and others advise is spread through airborne transmission and is spread by asymptomatic individuals. Multiple sources relied upon by the County reflect that mitigation is dependent upon the use of social distancing and personal protection equipment, such as face masks/coverings. The County's need to take measures to control the spread of COVID-19 clearly outweighs the Plaintiffs private interest in not wearing a mask in the limited circumstances required by the county's emergency order; and an injunction in this situation would disserve the public interest." Green v. Alachua County, Case No.: 01- 2020- CA- 001249 (Order dated May 26, 2020). See also: Ham v. Alachua County Board of County Commissioners et. al., Case No. 1: 20cv111- MW/ GRJ (Order dated June 3, 2020 by Chief United States District Judge Mark E. Walker) ("Plaintiffs have not demonstrated that Alachua County exceeded its broad limits and this Court, like the Supreme Court, will not engage in secondguessing"); and 2 F:\Attorney\Dylan\Face Covering Ordinance - Less Restrictive (Jan 2021).docx