Tampa Mayor Jane Castor expressed some frustration Monday over individuals during Super Bowl weekend not following her executive order for masks to be worn in certain outdoor areas of the city.
TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Mayor Jane Castor expressed frustration Monday over individuals not following her executive order for masks to be worn in certain outdoor areas of the city. The city handed out over 200,000 masks, and still places like Ybor City were packed with maskless crowds of partiers and concert-goers during weekend Super Bowl festivities. „It is a little frustrating because we have worked so hard in cooperation with the NFL and the county and just a number of different entities, putting the executive order in place that masks had to be worn in specific areas that we knew groups would be congregating,“ said Castor, Tampa’s former chief of police. Those areas included outdoor areas near Raymond James Stadium, downtown Tampa and in entertainment districts, including Ybor City, the Channel District (Channelside) and the Central Business District. The order remains in effect until Feb.13. This was in addition to the NFL requiring masks to be worn at all times inside the stadium and NFL events unless actively eating or drinking. Before the Super Bowl, masks were only required indoors. Starting Sept.25, as part of the state’s Phase 3 reopening plan that allowed bars and restaurants to open at 100% capacity, Florida Gov. Ron Desantis banned localities from collecting fines from individuals not wearing masks. Castor had disagreed with the governor on this, believing local municipalities should be determining the rules most appropriate for their cities and counties. She also had disagreed previously with the governor on the reopening of bars and breweries. Some local jurisdictions, like Miami — the state’s epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic — fought DeSantis on this, but DeSantis signed an executive order prohibiting local governments from collecting fines from individuals, although private businesses have had the right to deny service to those not wearing masks.
