This appeal is a solemn call for citizens and businesses to put aside convenience in order to pursue a moral mandate of conscientiousness amidst a very atypical time, reads the city s proposed resolution.
Mayor Bill Mutz said he felt perhaps entering a new year has caused people to think overly positively about the pandemic. We ve lost sight of the concerns going into 2021 and felt like it s over when COVID is not over, he said.
The city s proposed resolution calls for residents to take following actions:
Practice social distancing, which includes avoiding large gatherings, maintaining a distance of at least six feet from others who don t live in the same household.
LAKELAND Lakeland s health care providers say the city is squarely within COVID-19 s cone of uncertainty as virus rapidly spreads, pushing hospitals and clinics to their limits.
Dr. Joy Jackson, director of Florida Department of Health in Polk, told Lakeland commissioners there s been a significant increase in emergency room and urgent care visits because of the virus. Across the county, Jackson said there are three times more people hospitalized because of COVID now than in early December. We are in a potentially dangerous situation if we don t take action to increase awareness about the risk, said Danielle Drummond, CEO and president of Lakeland Regional Health.