Hillsborough Commissioners Reassign Group Behind Mask Mandate

TAMPA -- Hillsborough County Commissioners tell the group overseeing COVID-19 response, to stick to hurricanes.

They voted unanimously to draft a directive to get the County Emergency Policy Group focused on hurricane response instead of the pandemic.

Commissioners such as Mariella Smith, who don't sit on the EPG, complained that the Commission is the legislative body for the county, and they were getting flooded with e-mails about decisions they didn't make. The EPG imposed a lockdown and curfew in the county in April and is also behind the current mask mandate.

Hillsborough is the only county in Florida with an emergency panel that includes mayors of the county's three cities, the head of the school board and the sheriff, along with three commissioners. It was created to coordinate evacuations during hurricanes.

Photo: Getty Images


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