Florida sheriff 'bans staff and visitors from wearing face masks'
A Florida sheriff has reportedly banned his employees and visitors from wearing a face mask.
Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods told employees that some exceptions will be made, but "masks will not be worn" by on-duty members of staff at any time, according to ABC News.
An email from Mr Woods, seen by ABC news, said that any visitor who walks into "any one of our lobbies (which includes the main office and all district offices) that is wearing a mask will be asked to remove it".
He wrote: "Now, I can already hear the whining and just so you know I did not make this decision easily and I have weighed it out for the past two weeks. This is no longer a debate nor is it up for discussion."
Mr Woods concluded his email by saying: "My orders will be followed or my actions will be swift to address."
It comes as Florida reported 5,800 virus cases on Tuesday and a record high of 276 deaths.
The United States has more than 5.1 million confirmed coronavirus cases and the death toll currently stands at 165,510 - the highest in the world.
The surge in cases has been accompanied by a burgeoning outbreak of misinformation and conspiracy theories about supposed cures and the effectiveness of masks.
While New York's Covid-19 caseload reached as high 66,000 new cases a week in April, Florida's peak weekly rise was 7,500 during the same month, according to a Reuters tally.
By July, however, Florida was struggling to contain the spread of the virus, recording more than 80,000 new cases during one week.
In New York, cases had fallen to around 5,000 weekly during the same month.
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