Duval County under ‘safer at home’ order starting Friday

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry discussed Wednesday what his office called “next steps” in Duval County’s coronavirus response.

The big takeaway: Curry will institute a “safer at home” order effective 12:01 a.m. on Friday morning

Curry had been toying with a “safer at home” order like Gov. Ron DeSantis instituted in Southeast Florida, looking to that for guidance.

However, Curry had already instituted a number of restrictions, including beach closures and mandating work from home for employees across the city who could do so, and he had openly questioned whether such an order would not be duplicative.

Ultimately, he made the move, shortly before DeSantis imposed his own statewide “safer at home” order.

“While we are confident that citizens will be much safer at home in the coming weeks, I want to make it clear that this executive order does not restrict people’s ability to go outside to take a walk or ride a bike,” said Mayor Curry. “This only prevents residents from traveling to businesses deemed nonessential.”

“I know that this is a major decision that will have major impacts on the lives of citizens throughout Jacksonville, but as Mayor, my top priority has been and always will be the collective health and safety of this city,” Curry added.

As is the case downstate, a large swath of businesses are deemed essential, and Curry noted people can leave the house to walk dogs and the like.

“There’s a million people in this city. We don’t have a million police officers,” Curry said, urging individual responsibility to help stem the surge.

The Mayor grew more agitated discussing the issue on the Zoom press conference, urging corona-skeptics to “turn on the television” and see the havoc the disease is wreaking nationally.

Sheriff Mike Williams did not rule out “arrest” for violating the order, even as he stressed that’s not what his department wants to do.

Curry urged residents to “stop the block parties,” responding to reports that locals have been partying in groups rather than obeying social distancing dictums.

Duval has 207 cases, 28 hospitalizations, and four deaths thus far from coronavirus, with new numbers coming in later this morning.

Curry noted that “despite being the state’s largest city, we’re not one of the hardest hit.”

He noted that Duval’s “slow growth rate can be attributed to actions taken over the last few weeks.”

However, in the end more action was needed.