ANNA MARIA ISLAND – For the first time since March 17, restaurants and bars on and around Anna Maria Island and throughout Florida can operate at 100% capacity.
During Friday’s press conference in St. Petersburg, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that Florida was immediately entering Phase 3 of his “Safe. Smart. Step-by-Step. Plan for Florida’s Recovery.” DeSantis’ announcement was accompanied by Executive Order 20-244, which also suspends locally imposed fines or penalties for violations of COVID-19 regulations or restrictions, including face-coverings mandates.
“This order suspends the collection of fines and penalties associated with COVID-19 enforced upon individuals,” DeSantis states in the order. “Nothing in this order preempts or supersedes a non-COVID-19 municipal or county order.”
During Friday’s press conference, DeSantis said, “For restaurants, there will not be limitations from the state of Florida. There have been some local closures and other types of restrictions. The order I’m signing today will guarantee restaurants can operate a minimum of 50% regardless of local rule.”
There have been no local restaurant or bar capacity regulations imposed on Anna Maria Island or in Manatee County beyond those previously imposed by DeSantis and the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
DeSantis said the restaurant industry has worked hard to provide safe environments for patrons.
“They take this obligation seriously. They want customers to have confidence, so they have every incentive to do that going forward,” he said.
“In the state of Florida, every business has an opportunity and the right to work. You can’t say no after six months and just have people twisting in the wind,” DeSantis said, noting there may be instances where “reasonable” local restrictions remain.
“No COVID-19 emergency ordinance may prevent an individual from working or from operating a business,” his order says.
“The beginning of July was the peak of infections – between July 7th and July 14th – and it’s kind of gone down ever since. The hospitalizations peaked on July 21st. COVID-positive hospitalizations are down 76% since the July peak,” DeSantis said.
He said sports and entertainment venues can operate without state-imposed COVID restrictions.
Regarding the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, DeSantis said, “I very much support the Bucs having fans. Outdoor transmission has not been a major factor. I also want to show we’re going to be able to host a Super Bowl in February. We expect to do a full Super Bowl.”
On Saturday, the Bucs announced a limited number of fans would be allowed to attend home games beginning with a soft opening on Oct. 4 and increasing to approximately 25% capacity on Oct. 18.
DeSantis also mentioned the music industry.
“We have musicians. They should be able to play, particularly these outdoor venues. You can do it and you can do it safely. We want to make sure they have an opportunity. I think you can get to yes on all of this stuff and there’s certainly no legal prohibition for them doing fans,” DeSantis said.
When asked about mask mandates, DeSantis said, “As an act of executive grace, all outstanding fines and penalties that have been applied against individuals are suspended. I think we need to get away from trying to penalize people and just work with people constructively.”
He also said, “The fact that you continue to move forward with the economy doesn’t mean the virus disappears. It’s something we’re going to have to deal with. But doing that from a fetal position – where society flounders, people are out of work, kids aren’t in school – that is not going to work and that’s not the way forward for us.”
Sen. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, said the state of Florida’s revenue collections for the month of August were $177 million more than post-pandemic estimates.
“We are already on the path to recovery and what the governor’s doing here today is just going to continue that path, and perhaps accelerate it,” Galvano said.
Local mask mandates preempted by state
When contacted Friday afternoon, Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy said DeSantis’ order renders the city’s emergency face-covering order unenforceable and the local order would be allowed to expire on Tuesday.
“What’s the purpose of having a mask order in place if there’s no penalty for a violation? There is no purpose,” Murphy said.
Anna Maria’s emergency face-covering order carries a $50 fine, but no fines had been issued in Anna Maria.
“I hope it’s the right thing to do. I truly support businesses reopening. The economy, and particularly the restaurant business, has taken a terrible hit as a result of COVID-19. People are out of work and businesses are failing. I don’t want this in our city, but on the other hand, it seemed reasonable to request people wear masks. Now it appears there’s nothing we can do if they refuse. I think the economy will determine whether this is the right move or the wrong move and people will decide whether they want to go to a restaurant or not,” he said.
Anna Maria resident Bob Carter expressed concerns about the reopening order.
“As a resident of Anna Maria – a resort town where 70% of the houses are rentals – the infection risks are elevated with thousands of tourists in and out every week. With no fines, restaurants at 100% capacity and unmasked bars and restaurants can quickly become infection centers. I hope each city and each establishment owner considers keeping precautions in place to protect employees and patrons,” Carter said.
When contacted Friday, County Administrator Cheri Coryea was asked what impact the governor’s order has on the county face-covering mandate – a mandate that currently applies in unincorporated areas of Manatee County, including Cortez, and in cities that did not enact their own face-covering mandates, including Bradenton Beach.
“Because face coverings in the county are only required if you are unable to social distance 6 feet apart or more, and not while dining, it shouldn’t have an impact,” Coryea said.
Enacted on July 27, the county’s face-covering mandate carries a written warning for a first offense, a $50 fine for a second offense, a $125 fine for a third offense and a $250 fine for subsequent offenses. Those fines are now suspended per DeSantis’ order.
The authority to extend or repeal the county’s face-covering mandate in the wake of DeSantis’ order lies with the county commission.
Regarding DeSantis’ reopening order, Coryea said, “This should be most impactful to laid-off employees of the restaurant industry. I’m glad to see these folks able to return to work. Manatee County’s COVID-19 cases appear to be in a leveling off period – not much movement up or down in the last 30 days. As seasonal residents begin to return, opening up the capacity of restaurants while still using smart social distancing and sanitizing brings employees back to work and supports a needed boost to the local economy. Today’s number of unemployment claims for Manatee County reached over 36,660. We will know in about two weeks how impactful this change was.”
Business community reacts
DeSantis’ decision produced mixed reactions from the business community.
When contacted Saturday, Island Time General Manager Michael Davis said the Bradenton Beach establishment was operating at 100% capacity again.
“Business is picking up. We’re seeing more volume today and we’re getting the NFL Ticket back tomorrow,” Davis said.
The Drift In is also operating at 100% capacity.
“I feel better not having to be the mask police and sending customers away because we were at our full 50% capacity. Staff will continue to wear masks until the Manatee County mandate changes,” manager Doreen Flynn said.
Sports Lounge bartender Patrick Edwards said, “We still require you to wear a mask when you walk in the door. We are at full capacity now. We do encourage social distancing and no longer have to sell food. So far those are the only changes that have been made.”
Bridge Tender Inn owner and retired physician Fred Bartizal expressed mixed feelings.
“It is a mistake at this time. It is good as a businessman, but bad as a physician,” he said of DeSantis’ order.
In Anna Maria, Ginny’s and Jane E’s café and coastal store owner Paul Foster said, “We are still requiring masks and social distancing. No change there. We are still analyzing our occupancy – no changes outside; inside we are going to try to get to 75% capacity. We are going to hang more plexiglass dividers. Our focus is on our customer and staff safety first.”
Chuck Wolfe is the CEO of the Chiles Group that owns and operates The Sandbar restaurant in Anna Maria, the Beach House restaurant in Bradenton Beach and the Mar Vista Dockside restaurant in Longboat Key.
“We have not changed any of our policies. We continue to do outdoor seating only and we still require guests to have masks on when inside the building,” Wolfe said, noting Chiles Group employees will continue wearing masks.
In Cortez, Swordfish Grill General Manager Bob Slicker said, “We are continuing safe social distancing to keep our guests and team safe.”
Phase 3
Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “Safe. Smart. Step-by-Step. Plan for Florida’s Recovery” calls for these measures in Phase 3.
- Vulnerable populations older than 65 years of age and individuals with a serious underlying medical condition (such as chronic lung disease, moderate-to-severe asthma, serious heart conditions, immune-compromised status, cancer, diabetes, severe obesity, renal failure and liver disease) can resume public interactions, but should practice social distancing, minimizing exposure to social settings where distancing may not be practical, unless precautionary measures are observed.
- Non-vulnerable populations should consider minimizing time spent in crowded environments.
- Non-essential travel may continue.
- Employees should resume unrestricted staffing of worksites and implement the final phasing in of employees returning to work. Employers should take prudent and practical measures to ensure employees do not enter the premises if they believe they are infected with COVID-19 or show symptoms of influenza-like illness.
- Employees should resume non-essential travel and adhere to CDC guidelines regarding isolation following travel.
- Local government meetings should return to in-person quorum and public participation for local government bodies.
- Bars, pubs, and nightclubs that derive more than 50% of sales from alcohol should operate at full capacity with limited social distancing protocols.
- Restaurants and food service establishments may operate at full capacity with limited social distancing protocols. Businesses should maintain adequate sanitation practices among employees and patrons during all hours of operation. Menus, if laminated, should continue to be cleaned after each usage. Paper menus shall be designed for single use and then disposed of immediately after use.
- Gyms and fitness centers should open to full capacity but should maintain adequate sanitation practices among employees and patrons during all hours of operation.
- State parks should be fully opened, including overnight accommodations.
- Public beaches: Beaches should remain fully opened.
- Large venues: (i.e. movie theaters, concert halls, auditoriums, bowling alleys, arcades, playhouses, casinos) These venues should re-open fully with limited social distancing protocols.
- Large spectator sporting events should consider reducing capacity with limited social distancing protocols.
- Theme parks may return to normal operations with limited social distancing protocols.
- Vacation rentals should resume normal operating procedures but should continue to thoroughly clean and disinfect the property between rentals.
- Personal services businesses, such as cosmetology salons, barber shops and nail salons, should operate under full capacity but should consider the following mitigation measures: Continue to maintain adequate sanitation practices for employees and patrons. Remove all unnecessary, frequent-touch items such as magazines, newspapers, service menus, any other unnecessary paper products and décor from customer service areas.
- Operators of retail businesses should operate at full capacity but should continue to maintain adequate sanitation practices for employees and patrons.
