Orange County residents have been ordered to stay at home after Mayor; Jerry Demings signed a “stay-at-home” mandate for all the entire county. He urged the people to remain at home as a measure to contain the ongoing coronavirus spread.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday evening news conference, Orange County leaders announced 50 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the county. On the announcement, the youngest person said to be infected 20, while the oldest is 87.
The leaders reiterated that as a result of the growing concern, they wouldn’t want the people to leave their homes except when it is necessary.
One of the reporters shared the preceding from the news conference on Twitter.
VIDEO: @OrangeCoFL officials signing stay at home mandate. @MyNews13 https://t.co/gicg30wS0e pic.twitter.com/Rr5slqoWs4
— Justin Soto (@JSotoTravels) March 24, 2020
Henceforth, the executive order goes into effect from Thursday, March 26th at 11 pm and lasts two weeks through April 9th at 11 pm.
At the news conference, Demings said: “The order means the entire county will be asked to stay at home as much as possible, with exceptions to businesses deemed essential.”
Those essential businesses as identified by the Orange County leaders include;
- Healthcare providers
- Grocery stores
- Gas stations
- Banks
- Daycares
- Media services
- Hardware/home improvement stores
Moreover, you can still do certain things while social distancing, according to the County leaders. “It’s still fine to go buy groceries, to get take out, to walk your dog, to exercise, to pick up your medicine, to visit your doctor, or to get supplies so you can work from home,” they said.
However, businesses seen as non-essential are ordered to close temporarily. Citing that if you break the rules, you can be fined up to $500 and/or face jail time, the order states.
Orange County Sheriff, John Mina, also added that they don’t intend to us the stay-at-home order as a medium to carry out more arrests. While the leaders say the decision wasn’t easy for them to make, but they have to since it’s the best to aid stop the spread of the virus.
