‘It is time to hold them accountable’: Orange County mayor announces plan to fine businesses for COVID-19 violations

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Orange County businesses who don’t follow proper COVID-19 protocols can now be fined by the county.

On Friday, leaders signed an executive order outlining what protocols business must follow and how those fines will work.

That order went into effect on Sunday at 12:01 a.m.

READ: Florida reports more than 10,000 new COVID-19 cases for second day in a row

To comply businesses must:

• Make sure people and employees stay six feet apart.
• Ensure employees wear face coverings at all times.
• Require customers and visitors to wear face coverings.
• And post appropriate signage throughout the location.

READ: Stimulus update: Bipartisan COVID-19 bill gains support; $300 weekly unemployment a ‘good start’

The order shows that businesses would have to pay a $500 fine for the first violation.

However, if the citation is issued by a special magistrate, the fine would be $1,000 per day for a first violation and $5,000 per day for repeat violators.

The plan goes on to say if the magistrate finds that a violation is irreparable or irreversible in nature, the fine would be $15,000 per violation.

READ: Coronavirus: How long between exposure to the virus and the start of symptoms?

Video: Orange County businesses could be fined up to $5,000 a day for repeat COVID-19 protocol violations Orange County businesses could be fined up to $5,000 a day for repeat COVID-19 protocol violations, according to a draft plan released by the county on Thursday

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings gave an update on COVID-19 Friday afternoon to discuss the order.

He said it is time to hold “bad actors” in the community responsible for their action.

Demings said out of the more than 5,600 businesses the county’s strike team has been to they have had about a 98% compliance rate.

He said the new executive order will only impact a few bad actors who pretend to care about the public’s health but continue to put profit over people’s lives.

“It is time to hold them accountable,” he said.

Between Sunday and Friday, Orange County health officials reported more than 3,000 new cases of coronavirus.

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Cox Media Group