Tampa Mayor Jane Castor argues a curfew would be more difficult to enforce than a stay-at-home order.

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Hillsborough County leaders during an emergency meeting opted not to issue a stay-at-home order but instead will consider a curfew at their next meeting.

It's all in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19 coronavirus.

﻿It was widely expected the Hillsborough County‘s Council of Emergency Managers would pull the trigger on a stay-at-home order, requiring everyone except essential personnel to stay home. That order would have been issued by Hillsborough County's council of emergency managers this afternoon.

But not all leaders were on board with the idea with a stay-at-home order. An idea of a curfew was floated, and leaders ultimately decided to discuss a countywide curfew on Thursday.

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor for days pushed the idea of a stay-at-home order and again during the emergency meeting.

She was not in support of a curfew, saying a stay-at-home order "isn't going to be as onerous as putting a curfew in place." Castor argued it would be more difficult to enforce.

Time is, she says, of the essence.

"[We're] asking individuals to say inside, stay away from each other... [with] exemptions for all essential businesses ..." Castor said. "If we continue to put off, and off, and off for more information, more people are going to get the virus.

"If we're going to wait on the governor, [Gov. Ron DeSantis], he clearly has no intention for any statewide action. ... The more we kick this issue down the road, the more people that are going to die in our community.

In short, the stay-at-home order would mean to stay inside: Don’t go to work unless your job is considered to be essential.

“We know this is frustrating for individuals. It’s inconvenient. But think about it, if we take these actions now we can flatten the curve. We can reduce the number of cases, hopefully, save lives, and will be able to get back to our normal lives much quicker. The longer we wait, the longer it’s going to take. And the more people that will die from this,” Castor said earlier.

Here’s what the shelter-in-place order means:

You can still make necessary trips to the grocery store, pharmacy, medical appointments, restaurant drive-throughs and get takeout. You can still go for a walk or ride a bike.

What you can not do is go to work unless you’re providing essential services as defined by the order.

That means no visiting friends and family if there’s no urgent need. And, for now, no visiting loved ones in the hospital, nursing home or other residential care facilities.

A curfew, with details yet to be hammered out, theoretically would restrict more people from being in public than a stay-at-home order.

At question: How do you make a stay-at-home order stick?

“If we put this policy in place, how do we enforce it?” asked Plant City Mayor Rick Lott. “What are we going to do, are we arresting people, or are we just giving them a citation? What’s the enforcement of it?”

Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said his department was prepared to implement whatever policy the council ultimately decides on.

But Lott pointed out the possible conflicts created by the lack of a statewide policy, asking what if someone was driving on the interstate from Polk County and entered Hillsborough County. Then what? Are they suddenly violating an order?

DeSantis has not issued a statewide shelter in place order, but speaking Monday in The Villages -- a large retirement community -- he said he was reluctant to do so because it might place an unnecessary burden on people who live in parts of the state where the outbreak has not been as severe.



“I don’t want to put somebody in a position where there is some sort of an order if they can’t comply. Then they’re going to suffer a financial catastrophe, health problems... so there’s a whole chain reaction that goes with some of the stuff,” DeSantis said. “For every action, there is a reaction. So, we’re going to consider what would make sense for Florida. I do believe we’re going to be doing more stuff soon.”

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