Do brides and grooms have to wear masks at weddings? In Key West, a rule becomes a law
In Key West, even those breathing heavily during a workout or long-distance run must wear a face mask as part of the city’s effort to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Now, it’s the law of the island.
The Southernmost City has turned its emergency mandatory mask order — which orders people to wear masks outside even if they can social distance — into a law. The measure was passed by a unanimous Key West City Commission, which met online late Tuesday.
But the unified vote came after commissioners hammered out a few exceptions, including one that is a nod to the lucrative wedding industry that thrives in Key West.
Those with chronic medical conditions may use their condition as a defense if called to court. Musicians may take off masks to perform if they place a plexiglass shield between them and the audience.
And at weddings, brides and grooms may remove masks during the ceremony and while taking photos afterward.
But if you’re lifting weights at the gym, on an elliptical or running outside, the mask stays on, according to the law.
“We’re going to lose the people,” said City Commissioner Sam Kaufman, who was one of two to vote in favor of the workout exception. “We’re already making strides with people wearing masks. Not having common sense exceptions is going to be counterproductive to what we have.”
Mayor Teri Johnston said the mask law is sorely needed as the COVID-19 cases rise in the Keys.
“Our hospitals are filling up,” Johnston said. “We had people on ventilators for the first time since COVID-19 hit Key West,” Johnston said. “The facts are we do not have people wearing masks even in a confined area.”
Johnston said she’d be eager to tack on exceptions to the mask law if more people were already wearing them voluntarily.
“If you didn’t walk down on Duval Street right now and see 50 or 60 percent of the people without masks walking right next to each other,” Johnston said. “We have a number of people who are asking to resume normal life in a very abnormal time. We’re not in normal times, otherwise I’d say, yes, you should go to hot yoga without a mask or jog down South Roosevelt Boulevard without a mask.”
Kaufman questioned the fairness of the mask ordinance.
“The point of this mask ordinance is not to put people out of business and not to harm people,” Kaufman said. “We need common sense regulations.”
“Nobody is getting cited without being asked to put their mask back on,” said City Attorney Shawn Smith. “There is a period, pre-citation, where someone could take it off and put it back on.”
“They’re not going to burst into a wedding party and start writing tickets for everyone because they don’t have masks on,” said Commissioner Jimmy Weekley.
Johnston called it common sense enforcement.
“We’re really concerned about keeping Key West open,” she said.
Commissioners earlier heard from the Keys’ top health department official, who said enforcement of the mask rules is key to stopping the spread of COVID-19.
“We don’t need more regulations,” said Bob Eadie, administrator of the Florida Department of Health in Monroe County. “We need that 10 or 15 percent of the population that’s not doing their share to either suffer the consequences or get the message that they need to be protecting the rest of their citizens.”
This story was originally published July 22, 2020 at 12:42 PM.
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