GOP’s Host City Imposes Mask Mandate Ahead of Republican National Convention

The Republican National Convention has had one heck of a wild ride this year, all thanks to the threat of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

The event was originally scheduled to take place in North Carolina, but party leaders pulled the plug on that plan on account of the the state governor’s insistence that the event’s attendance be throttled in order to mitigate the risk of spreading coronavirus throughout the gathering masses.  The back-and-forth feud between Governor Cooper and the White House lasted for several weeks before the GOP made the decision to seek another host city.

Now, after settling on Jacksonville, Florida, it appears as though the RNC will again be grappling with the viral threat…this time in The Sunshine State.

“At 5 p.m. today, the City of Jacksonville will be adopting a mandatory mask requirement for public & indoor locations, and in other situations where individuals cannot socially distance,” the City of Jacksonville announced on social media[…]

“Healthcare experts advise masks and cloth face coverings help slow the spread from individuals with COVID-19 to vulnerable populations including from those who are asymptomatic,” city spokesperson Nikki Kimbleton said Monday.

“We continue to urge everybody to please practice personal responsibility, do your part to please help stop the spread of this virus,” she added.

Children under the age of two will reportedly be exempt from the order.

Mayor Lenny Curry (R) was not in attendance at Monday’s briefing due to a family commitment, but Politico reported that discussion on a mandate had been in the works, reaching a “final turning point” following “the decisions by the Coast Guard and Navy, which has two facilities in Jacksonville, to order indoor mask-wearing.”

It is not clear whether or not this mandate will remain in effect through August’s Republican National Convention, or how such an ordinance would be enforced if so.