Mayor adds St. Petersburg to list of cities requiring masks in public, indoor spaces
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Bay Area government leaders continue their push to get everyone wearing masks while out in public.
Now, they're not asking. They're telling residents they have no choice.
Starting Tuesday, June 23 at 5 p.m., everyone in St. Petersburg will be required to wear a face-covering in public spaces. That’s already the case in Tampa and now in all of Hillsborough County. Read Mayor Rick Kriseman's executive order here.
“We want people to take this seriously,” St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman said. “Wear these things.”
Not doing so could get expensive.
The civil violation could cost $450 in Tampa and it’s a $500 penalty in St. Pete.
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As COVID-19 cases rise at an alarming rate in Florida, the CDC says using a face covering is one of the best ways to cut down on the spread of the virus.
Tampa’s ordinance requiring everyone to wear a mask kicked in Friday. They gave away 120,000 masks over the weekend. No tickets were written but they were letting people know.
In St. Pete, employees of businesses are already required to wear masks, but starting Tuesday night, the rule applies to everyone.
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“There’s going to be a period where we make sure that the public knows that we put this in place. But having said that, don’t push it,” Kriseman said.
Hillsborough County is also enforcing a county-wide mask mandate and Pinellas is expected to do so Tuesday.