OVIEDO, Fla. – As coronavirus cases have been on the rise in Seminole County, the mayor of Oviedo is speaking up about an executive order that mandates masks be worn in neighboring Orange County.
Mayor Megan Sladek said a mandate for facial coverings is something that cannot be enforced, so she doesn’t think it makes sense for an order to be issued in Oviedo.
“Any ordinance or mandate that cannot be enforced is rather toothless,” Sladek said. “I don’t see how it’s productive to go down a path of attempting to force people to wear them.”
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But while she disagrees with the method, Sladek said she was glad to see Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings take action to protect the community.
“I think anything that raises awareness about how we can make our community safer is a good thing,” she said. “Even in making a statement, it may spur change in the patterns of wearing masks by everybody in Orange County and surrounding counties as well.”
Sladek has been a long-time supporter of wearing masks, but said it's something that should be at the discretion of each individual.
“Wear them in the grocery store. Wear them in medical office buildings. Wear them in the pharmacy,” she said. “Let’s build from that and not just out the gate say wear them everywhere if you leave your house. It’s just not achievable.”
As leaders in Seminole County have been working on their own plan to help flatten the curve, Sladek said she'll continue to encourage everyone to wear masks in high-risk places.
“People need to believe that it is in their own best interest to wear the mask,” she said.