Orange County leaders want a 50% vaccination rate before relaxing the mask mandate

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – The mayor of Orange County, Jerry Demings, said that he wants to see the vaccination of 50% of the people in the county before thinking about relaxing the mask mandate.

More than 481,000 people have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine in Orange County and more than 290,000 people have completed their vaccine series, according to the Florida Department of Health.

The mayor wants to see more people sign up for a vaccine meeting.

“[The goal] is to get the shots in as many arms as possible, ”Demings said.

[TRENDING: NASA makes history with Mars flight | For sale: Historic, haunted Fla. jail | Pilot lands in ocean during Fla. air show]

Ad

Demings said 29.73% of Orange County residents received at least one dose of vaccine and said 53.5% of people over the age of 40 received at least one shot.

The goal of herd immunity is about 80% of the county’s population to be vaccinated.

Demings said he will work with the health department to work on a staging plan for the mask warrants.

“It will probably take several months before you can see a significant reduction in facial coverage,” Demings said.

According to Demings, there is a chance of a schedule sooner or later.

Demings said you will see social distance requirements for Orange County residents relaxed before a mask warrant is relaxed.

All people over the age of 16 are eligible for the vaccine in Orange County.

Anyone aged 16 or 17 must have a parent or guardian with them.

Orange County has posted a list of vaccination sites at this link, there are 120 sites in the county.

Ad

“The convention center is fast and convenient. You don’t even have to get out of the vehicle, “Demings said.

Demings added that there are many meetings available at the Orange County Convention Center.

The county has offered 17,000 meetings for this week, 11,000 meetings starting at 17:00 Monday are still available.

The percentage of 14 days of positive testing for COVID-19 in Orange County is 7.6, it was about 5% in March.

DOH reports that more than 130,000 people have tested positive for COVID-19 as of March 2020.

Health officials reported that 2,685 people were hospitalized from COVID-19 in Orange County and 1,228 people died from the virus.

Hospitalizations have risen slightly, according to Demings, the Orange County leader discussed the number with health leaders.

“They weren’t at the level where they were very concerned about that, but they’re monitoring him,” Demings said.