Manatee County commissioners planning to unify on COVID-19?

Although Manatee County’s commissioners have spoken multiple times of plans to hold a press conference where they will show a united front toward their message to the public about helping to stop the spread of COVID-19, that unity could have its limits if the pandemics worsens and one or more of the commissioners suggest enacting another mask mandate.

District 5 Commissioner Vanessa Baugh said she doesn't foresee anything that would lead to the county to issue another mask mandate.

“The last thing we want to do is try to force anything on people, because when you do that, they rebel," Baugh said. "I do, I rebel. This is America. You don't want people rebelling. We're just going to have to weather it out. That's all we can do at this point.”

Baugh and the other commissioners do agree they should speak of the importance of wearing a mask, social distancing, washing or sanitizing hands frequently and getting vaccinations once they are available. They’ll encourage all county citizens to do so."

How those messages will be delivered to the pubic is yet to be determined.

“We do need to stand and be together and say the same things,” Baugh said. “That's something that this board has not always done. And I think if we do that we’ll show unity. I think the public will be quick to support us.”

But the commissioners don't all agree on the best way to handle every detail of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The number of COVID-19 cases in Manatee County rose during November but did not hit the same level as the peaks seen in late June and July. For now, commissioners said their strategy of encouraging the public and businesses to take the pandemic seriously is mostly working.

“If we do those things, then we're probably going to keep a lot of people from getting infected,” Baugh said. “I really do believe that if you look around Manatee County, the majority of people have gotten that message. And they're following through and they're doing it. Manatee County doesn't need to mandate anything. Our citizens are concerned.”

At-large commissioner Carol Whitmore said she is pleasantly surprised at the number of people she has heard from who will not patronize a business if employees aren’t required to wear masks. She also said she’s hearing less of those stories recently. Whitmore said that could mean businesses are getting the message they could lose customers without proper precautions.

However, Whitmore also said she would be open to a different approach if the pandemic continues to worsen into the winter, especially if the situation became severe enough to overwhelm Manatee County hospitals. She didn’t go as far as saying she would definitely support a mask mandate in such a scenario, but rather that she would listen to the experts.

“I'm a person of science,” Whitmore said. “My decision will be (based) on data collected. In a public safety issue where we have no more hospital beds, we can't ship in anymore because everybody else has the same issue, an increased death rate, I will go on the science.”

Some commissioners have wondered if President-Elect Joe Biden’s administration might try to issue a national shutdown. They were concerned enough about it to address the subject at a Nov. 19 special meeting, although assistant county attorney Bill Clague pointed out that Gov. Ron DeSantis is likely the only official who would have the authority to make such a move that would impact Manatee County, as he did with his April 1 stay-at-home order.

“I don't think that you'll see this board ever agree to such things,” Baugh said. “Americans are not going to stand to be shut down again,” Baugh said. “Everybody has to work. Everybody needs to make money. Everybody has families to feed and bills to pay, mortgages to pay. And so we need to realize that those things are as important as taking care of us in a pandemic. So we have to figure out how we can accomplish both.”

Whitmore didn’t want to speculate on what actions a new presidential administration might take and said there are checks in place, such as Congress and state governments, to ensure the administration can’t impose its will on the country. She said she believes in the health care community and doesn’t see the pandemic as a political issue.

“I think we need to look out for ourselves, Manatee County and the state of Florida,” Whitmore said.