As the novel coronavirus pandemic continues to hit the United States at full speed, many people are following the advice of scientists and experts and wearing masks, practicing social distancing, and staying home when possible. That’s precisely why it’s particularly mind-blowing that one Florida sheriff has actually banned his deputies, as well as people who visit his office, from wearing face masks while at work. Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods issued an order that bans deputies from wearing masks with few exceptions; they may wear masks in hospitals, public schools, and jails, for example, or when interacting with people who are suspected of having the virus or people who are high risk, like at a nursing home, as first reported by local outlet Ocala Star-Banner.
From what we understand about the virus, however, we know that COVID-19 can be fatal for people or groups who aren’t categorized as high risk and that people may be positive for the virus without displaying symptoms.
“We can debate and argue all day of why and why not. The fact is, the amount of professionals that give the reason why we should, I can find the exact same amount of professionals that say why we shouldn’t,” Woods wrote in the email to the sheriff’s department dated Aug. 11. In the closing of his email, as reported by Ocala and shared with The Washington Post, Woods stressed “this is no longer a debate nor is it up for discussion.”
How can this order be real at this point in the pandemic? Well, Florida is one of the states left that still does not have a statewide mask mandate. There is also no national mandate on law enforcement officers wearing masks. One argument has been that masks can make it difficult for people to understand one another and that not wearing masks allows commands and interactions to be understood more clearly. One obvious solution to that is to provide officers (and other first responders) with masks that use a plastic shield so people are also able to see their lip and mouth movements.
However, as Woods wrote, removing masks upon entering the department is apparently also about wanting to identify people in light of “hatred toward law enforcement.”
“In light of the current events when it comes to the sentiment and/or hatred toward law enforcement in our country today,” he wrote, as reported by Ocala, “this is being done to ensure there is clear communication and for identification purposes of any individual walking into a lobby.”
If you’re thinking about all of the instances we’ve seen go viral about people being confronted for refusing to wear a mask, the sheriff has apparently thought of that, too. Deputies are told to say, “I am not required to wear a mask nor will I, per the Order of the Sheriff,” and then walk away.
If visitors do not want to remove their masks, they will be directed to leave and wait in the lobby. If they don’t want to stay in the lobby (presumably around other people also not allowed to wear masks), they can wait outside and a staff person will take their phone number.
Meanwhile, coronavirus case numbers are surging in Florida. On Tuesday, for example, Florida broke a grim record in recording 276 new COVID-19 deaths, which brings the total of recorded COVID-19 fatalities in the state to over 8,500. And while it’s initially optimistic to see that the number of new cases has dropped in the last few weeks, testing has also dropped—and on Tuesday alone, more than 5,000 new cases were confirmed.