Efforts to counter the spread of COVID-19 reached new heights just as data showed the virus found its way to Anna Maria Island.
Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a “safer at home” order April 1 to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus the same day the first confirmed case was reported from Holmes Beach.
The Holmes Beach statistic is one of Manatee County’s 136 confirmed cases, including three deaths and 31 hospitalizations, as of April 6.
Across the state, the number of people infected with the virus has ballooned.
There were 136 confirmed cases in the state March 16 and 12,350 cases as of April 6, according to the Florida Department of Health.
DeSantis’ “safer at home” order, intended to flatten the curve and slow the spread of COVID-19, limits people to essential activities, including work for some, pet care, attending religious services, assisting a loved one or friend and participating in exercise under social distancing guidelines.
Essential services that can continue operating include medical care, public safety, law enforcement, utilities, public works, critical manufacturing, transportation, communications and information technology, financial, food, agriculture, government and some community-based operations.
The order took effect at 12:01 a.m. April 3 with an expiration date of April 30.
DeSantis also issued a pair of executive orders April 2 to improve the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity’s Reemployment Assistance Program and provide relief from mortgage foreclosures and evictions for 45 days. However, the order did not relieve the obligation to make mortgage and rent payments.
At the county level April 3, commissioners voted 5-2 to enact an immediate 11 p.m.-5 a.m. countywide curfew, as well as give law enforcement agencies the ability to enforce group gathering restrictions on private property, not including residence interiors.
Before the resolution passed, law enforcement agencies could only enforce local COVID-19 restrictions and safety measures on public property.
Commissioner Carol Whitmore, serving the island and the county at-large, floundered in her support, then backed off and said she wanted more public feedback but, in the end, she voted yes.
Both Commissioners Vanessa Baugh and Stephen Jonsson voted “no.” Jonsson’s district includes the island, Cortez and northwest Bradenton.
The curfew prohibits group gatherings larger than 10 people, as well as nonessential travel.
However, it allows for first responder operations, food delivery services, travel to and from work, walking domestic animals and utility work.
A proposal restricting dog-walkers to within 250 feet of their residences was removed before the policy was approved.
Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells said deputies would issue citations for second-degree misdemeanors and notices to appear in court to people found violating the curfew or the “safer at home” order.
Public comment at the meeting was conducted by phone and in person at the administration building in Bradenton.
Dr. Werther Marciales, M.D., of Manatee Memorial Hospital, encouraged the county to implement the proposed safety measures.
“The possibility that this could be a catastrophe should not be taken lightly,” Marciales said. “I believe that anything we can do to prevent this should be done.”
Speaking against the resolution, resident Kevin Wright said the measure infringes upon citizens’ civil liberties.
“Not all behavior, especially good behavior, should be subject to the law,” Wright said. “Even if everything else you’ve done here before was good, this is a red line.”
But county public safety director Jacob Saur said the curfew would reduce vehicular traffic, allowing law enforcement to better identify illegal activity and providing a needed break for first responders.
He said several MCSO deputies and emergency medical services employees had been quarantined due to exposure to the coronavirus, which impacted staffing.
Saur said the burden will only worsen, as projections are that the number of positive cases will grow before peaking around May 2.
“This is putting a strain on EMS, fire department and local law enforcement personnel daily to maintain adequate levels of staffing to respond to 911 calls,” Saur said. “We are in unprecedented times, and we will have a real problem when the virus peaks in our community.”
“Our health care system and our first responders will not be able to manage the surge of sick patients,” Saur continued. “Now is the time to make swift, purposeful decisions before we reach the peak.”
Wells said too many residents failed to take safety measures seriously and continued large group gatherings. He added that he hoped the curfew would keep people at home.
Jonsson and Baugh spoke against the resolution.
“I just think this is a bad idea,” Jonsson said. “And it’s totally unenforceable in my opinion.
“Our residents have already given up a lot,” Baugh said. “We have 400,000 residents and we haven’t heard from all of them. …We need to take them into consideration.”
Commissioner Misty Servia said the curfew did little to restrict civil liberties because most businesses were closed and people could still carry out essential activities.
Commissioner Priscilla Trace moved to approve the modified resolution and Commission Chair Betsy Benac seconded the motion.
Meanwhile, during the week ending April 5, all three island cities extended their states of emergency.
Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie said April 3 city parks were closed, but the Historic Bridge Street Pier remained open to the public and the beaches were open to residents.
“There haven’t been any issues whatsoever,” Chappie said. “It’s been a change, of course.… But we’ll get through it.”
Bradenton Beach Police Lt. John Cosby said nonessential businesses in the city were closed and officers hadn’t faced any challenges enforcing restrictions.
“Everybody’s been very compliant,” he said.
Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth wrote in a daily report April 3 that the city had reopened the large dog park, but the covered pavilions remained closed to social gatherings.
She said the small dog park would be reopened “just as soon as the new grass is ready to be played on.”
The city’s code enforcement employees and police officers were monitoring to ensure vacation rental properties complied with DeSantis’ order barring new check-ins through April 10. A banner posted at the Manatee Avenue gateway to the city stated, “No vacation rental check-ins.”
Titsworth also encouraged essential businesses to adopt screening and social distancing procedures established by the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention to further limit the spread of the virus.
In Anna Maria, Mayor Dan Murphy wrote in an April 3 email to The Islander that the city was determining which businesses are “essential.”
Murphy said beaches would remain open to residents.
At press time for The Islander, the island cities had not planned to limit access from the mainland.