Stay-at-home order working say county officials

Sarasota County residents have heard and are heeding official warnings and orders regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

That was the word from county officials Friday morning in a press briefing to update the media and public on the situation locally.

“We have a smart community that doesn’t need to be over-regulated,” Sheriff Tom Knight said. “I’m real happy with where we’re at.”

County Health and Human Services Director Chuck Henry agreed noting that compliance with the orders is slowing the exponential growth of the virus in the county.

“So that’s encouraging,” Henry said.

When Gov. Ron DeSantis issued his executive order on April 3 decreeing that nonessential businesses must close, Knight sent a team of deputies out to explain and educate after receiving a number of inquiries.

“We’ve gotten a lot of compliance from local businesses,” Knight said. “We don’t need any more regulations in Sarasota County. We’re getting great compliance,” the sheriff repeated.

Knight did acknowledge that there were two businesses in the county that remained open but his office is working with their attorneys to explain the order.

With county residents adhering to the social distancing recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control, Knight added that county boat ramps would remain open.

But, Henry cautioned, Florida has not yet seen its peak in cases of COVID-19 which is expected, according to some models, to occur sometime after April 21.

“There’s still a lot of work to do,” Henry said.

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