Why are there no mask mandates in Lee County or Fort Myers?

There were heated discussions Thursday in Cape Coral where city leaders are thinking about implementing a mask mandate. In Lee County and Fort Myers, however, it has been silent, with no announced plans to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Out of the 14 people who run Lee County and the City of Fort Myers, only three people responded to questions about why there has been no action taken.

Two Fort Myers council members said they’ve received many letters demanding the city hold a meeting to talk about some kind of COVID-19 response.

The inaction continues even as parts of Lee County and Fort Myers become hot spots for the virus.

“You don’t wait ’til a house burns down until you call the gas company,” said Councilman Johnny Streets.

He believes the city is waiting too long to talk about masks.

“Good things come to those that wait, not to those who wait too late, and I think we waited too late. But I still believe in hope.”

Streets is hoping City Manager Saeed Kazemi responds and said he has reached out to Kazemi multiple times with his concerns and those of community members.

“I keep prodding my city manager to say hey, are you going to call a meeting? People need to know that we are concerned and I want you all to be as concerned as I am,” Streets said.

Council member Teresa Watkins-Brown said she has reached out too.

“I think it’s the right of the county commissioners as well as the city-elected officials to actually look out for the citizens of this city. And I feel that masks should be mandated,” she said.

To those who say mandating masks infringes upon their rights, the council members have a message.

“You have your rights, but I don’t want to be what we call … it’s not a good term to say and I’m not trying to be politically correct … but I don’t want to be ‘dead right,'” Streets said.

“What our citizens have to understand is it’s not infringing upon your rights. It’s making sure that everybody in our community is safe,” Watkins-Brown said.

Streets said he even reached out directly to a Lee County commissioner.

“I’ve advised him what we’re getting and I’m sure they’re getting the same thing. But are we doing anything?”

In just one week – this week – Lee County has reported 2,161 cases, a sharp increase considering the total number for the county tops 6,000.

The commissioners haven’t scheduled a meeting, either.

Commission Chair Brian Hamman posted on Facebook earlier this week that “we should be making data driven decisions that err on the side of protecting people’s liberty.”

WINK News reached out to Hamman and the other commissioners along with the county manager. Only Frank Mann returned our call, saying he wants Hamman to call a special meeting as soon as possible as he doesn’t want to wait to talk about the rising numbers.

We also reached out to Fort Myers Mayor Randy Henderson and the city manager, but neither of them got back to us.