SARASOTA –– Sarasota County residents may still come and go as they please even though they’re being urged to maintain social distancing and refrain from leaving their homes if possible.
That comes as county officials announced Monday during a press conference that there were no immediate plans to issue a stay-at-home order such as other counties, like Hillsborough have done.
“We believe our residents are smart, competent people who are making good choices, County Administrator Johnathan Lewis said in response to a question why the county hadn’t issued an order.
“It’s not necessary at this time,” Lewis said.
Although Gov. Ron Desantis has ordered the quarantine of arrivals from the New York/New Jersey region, placed checkpoints at the state’s borders, and prohibited short-term rentals to out-of-state visitors, he has refused thus far to issue a state-wide stay at home order.
Sheriff Tom Knight said there were no check points in the county, and his deputies would not be stopping vehicles with out-of-state tags. Knight explained that many of those vehicles may have already been here before the governor issued his order.
“It’s just necessary to call us about that,” Knight said.
As to inmates in the jail, sheriff’s spokeswoman Kaitlyn Perez said that two inmates had been tested for COVID-19 but both tests came back negative.
Health and Human Services Director Chuck Henry, while declining give names, said he was aware of two active cases of the virus in two different adult care facilities.
As to supplies of personal protective equipment at area hospitals, Henry said they were in “good shape,” although his department continues to “monitor closely” their status.
“Our best success is when we act collectively together as a region and use data to make those decisions,” Henry said.
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