The state of Florida has become a new hotspot for COVID-19. Santa Rosa County has 676 confirmed cases, but the number will only keep rising due to early re-opening of all businesses and lack of health regulations. Now, Florida leads the nation as one of the states with the fastest increase in COVID-19 cases. 111 new cases were confirmed just on Tuesday in Santa Rosa County. 28 hospitalized. 9 dead. Friends and family who will never see the inside of a church again. The Council of the City of Milton recently voted to reject wearing masks in businesses based on the (quantifiably false) idea that "businesses will lose the ground they are gaining because of resistance to the requirement," in addition to dubious claims such as masks cause negative effects on children, cause suffocation, and are ineffective in curbing the spread of COVID-19. The Council has shown its constituents that it prioritizes profit over their health and safety. More reasonably, everyone with the power to help prevent more deaths in our city are too uninformed on the economy, public health, and statistics, and lack the compassion to effectively lead a city with a higher proportion of people at risk of death from COVID than the rest of the country. Our Council and the officials that we elect to it have a responsibility to act with the best interest of us, the constituents, at heart. This responsibility was neglected when the Council failed to mandate masks in commercial settings. We call upon the Council of the City of Milton to take the proper actions now before the communities under its jurisdiction begin suffering under COVID-19.