Janelle Irwin Taylor
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor and St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman teamed up to share a regional message on staying safe as COVID-19 bears down on Florida.
“We are working day and night to keep our residents informed and safe, but we’re also working together in an unprecedented fashion,” Castor said in a video posted to YouTube Thursday.
The video launched the day after Pinellas County approved and Hillsborough County tentatively approved “safer at home” orders urging residents to stay home as often as possible and shuttering businesses who are not able to employ the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines on social distancing.
Both Castor and Kriseman lead efforts in their respective counties to ensure policies were put into place and both are calling for statewide action to ensure uniformity.
“COVID-19 knows no boundaries. It doesn’t stop at the water’s edge. Its impact on one region in Florida is a threat to all of Florida; to every Floridian,” Kriseman said in the video.
“And that’s why we need you to continue practicing common sense, heed the guidance of experts, as well as the directives of our respective cities. This is a serious public health emergency, and no one is immune,” Castor added.
The video oscillates between the two Mayors showing scenes of their respective cities, including images of now nostalgic gatherings like St. Pete’s Pride Parade and Tampa’s River O’ Green festival, which was canceled this year amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Pinellas County’s safer at home order takes effect Thursday just before 11:30. It allows both essential and non-essential businesses to continue operating, but mandates that they do so under CDC guidelines. Individuals are free to roam about, but also must follow social distancing guidelines.
Hillsborough’s order, which is largely similar, will take effect Friday at 10 p.m., assuming leaders approve it Thursday afternoon.
“Like Mayors throughout America, Jane and I are committed to simply doing the right thing and protecting public health and safety. This isn’t about politics. It’s about our community and now, more than ever, we need to come together as one nation, one state, one Tampa Bay,” Kriseman said.
The Hillsborough order came after Castor announced she would impose a citywide order after the County Emergency Policy Group declined to move forward with one earlier in the week. After that announcement, county leaders came together to offer up a compromise order.
“We appreciate our region’s efforts to date and urge you to continue to stay inside unless you are in need of essential services or fresh air. The actions we take today will save lives tomorrow. Tampa Bay, we can do this together even if we have to be apart for a little while,” she closed out in the video.
Statewide, Gov. Ron DeSantis has been reluctant to issue his own order, prompting local governments to take individual action.
