Alachua County is issuing a mandatory stay-at-home order for the entire country effective midnight, March 24.
City Commissioner Robert Hutchinson and Gainesville mayor Lauren Poe announced on Monday that the county would be on lockdown with a list of exceptions for businesses that are deemed “essential.”
According to Hutchinson Alachua County has the “highest rate of infections per capita of any Florida county” and “it must end starting now.”
Hutchinson also took aim at Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who some have criticized as slow to act regarding COVID-19.
“We can no longer wait for the Governor of Florida to join the other states, so we are taking this action now and will modify it as necessary if and when the State issues its own closures,” Hutchinson said in a statement.