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Pinellas to keep COVID-19 measures in place
Dan Matics reports
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Pinellas County leaders extended their state of emergency into next month, but not before listening to a bunch of angry phone calls over the county’s mask mandate.
“I have an issue with the mask and I don’t trust it,” complained one caller.
Pinellas has seen the percentage of positive cases stay below 5% but the county still has the third-highest death rate in the state at 3.2%.
Commissioner Pat Gerard snapped back at the callers with sarcasm. “I can’t imagine why I would want you to wear a mask unless it was going to contribute to slowing down this disease unless it were not to infect other people,” she said.
Sheriff Bob Gualtieri just recovered from the virus and said now is by no means time to let up.
“I can tell you that wearing a mask is a lot less inconvenient than having this nasty virus for somebody that had it and still has the effects of it,” Gualtieri said. “Wear a mask.”
Pinellas County is bracing for another spike in cases as 70,000 students and staff just returned to school.