Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office institutes mask mandate where social distancing is not possible

Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummel said he is addressing the COVID-19 rise in cases in his agency.

Prummel said he has instituted a mask mandate inside of areas where social distancing is not possible.

The agency has been classified as an outbreak location by the Florida Department of Health in Charlotte County. As of Monday, the agency has 34 positive cases in August.

“Simply put, this new, very contagious strain has made its way into the Sheriff’s Office and I cannot hesitate to respond,” Prummel said in a blogpost, referring to the delta variant.

The agency has suspended fingerprinting services as well as their Citizen’s Police Academy to reduce the spread of the virus.

Prummel has also ordered employees who can work from home to do so.

Deputies are also expected to clean their agency vehicle after any transport and are required to report any exposure or potential exposure they encounter,” Prummel said.

“I want to put your minds at ease that we are doing all that we can to stop the spread,” Prummel said. “We are all eager to return to doing what we love the way we are used to doing it, but we have to stay strong and get through this new wave safely.”

MORE: Read Prummel’s blog here.