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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Extends Order Blocking Business Shutdowns

TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) - Governor Ron DeSantis has extended a September executive order aimed at preventing business shutdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The two-page extension, issued Tuesday, said the state "continues to suffer economic harm as a result of COVID-19 related closures, exacerbating the impacts of the State of Emergency, and Floridians should not be prohibited by local governments from working or operating a business."

The extension is slated to last as long as Florida remains under a state of emergency during the pandemic.

The September 25 order barred local emergency ordinances that could "prevent an individual from working or from operating a business." It also prevented local governments from requiring restaurants to operate below 50 percent indoor capacity and required local governments to quantify the economic impact and the public-health need for limits on indoor capacity below 100 percent.

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The September order also suspended the collection of penalties and fines for violations of such things as local mask ordinances, though it did not outright ban the ordinances.

(©2020 CBS Local Media. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.)

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