The Florida Department of Health’s health officer for Orange County, Dr. Raul Pino, says the county’s mask mandate may be having an impact on the spread of coronavirus.
In a news conference Monday, Pino said the addition of just 345 new cases and an overall positive test rate of 12.3 percent is a positive sign.
“Although we don’t want to be complacent about it, or give you false hope, it could be that the data is starting to indicate a little bit of the results of mandating the mask,” said Pino.
He said the county has enough hospital capacity to deal with a surge in patients.
Meantime, Seminole County has joined Orange and Osceola counties in making it mandatory to wear a face mask in public.
Seminole County’s mask order takes effect Wednesday.
Brevard County commissioners will vote on a mask order Tuesday.
