Five Florida mayors have asked GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis to issue a mask mandate amid a spike in coronavirus cases.
Florida recorded nearly 7,500 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday. Nearly 1 million in the state have been infected with the virus.
The mayors of Miami Beach, Hialeah, Miami Shores Village, Sunrise and St. Petersburg called for the implementation of a mask mandate, consistency in statewide regulations and restoration of state testing sites to full capacity.
''It’s unmistakably clear that Florida’s approach to managing this pandemic is failing pretty horribly,'' Miami Beach's mayor, Dan Gelber, a Democrat, told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
''The window is closing and closing fast,'' added Hialeah's mayor, Carlos Hernández, a Republican. ''If we sit here and don’t do anything, I don’t want to be the one sitting here talking about closing businesses again or the hospitals are overcrowded.''
Florida is one of 16 states without a mask mandate. DeSantis lifted all COVID-19 restrictions on Sept. 25 and banned local governments from enforcing their mask mandates against individuals.
''Our governor has been on the wrong side of this from the beginning. I wish he would heed the experts,'' Sen. Lori Berman, a Palm Beach County Democrat, told the Florida Phoenix. ''Look at Utah. They just imposed a state mandate yesterday [after a 15% increase in cases]. I hope we don’t have to get that bad before our governor will act.''
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.