ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Orange County leaders approved a plan Tuesday that will allow “strike” teams to randomly drop by businesses to see whether they’re following social distancing and other guidelines designed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The teams can visit any business in Orange County, including those inside cities like Orlando and Apopka. The strike teams would ensure businesses are practicing social distancing, following the county's mask mandate, and posting safety signage. They'll also have personal protective equipment and other supplies on hand for those who need them.

With some gyms still closed and more people working from home, Jessica Kinnee said she’s seen a boost in business. 

“We’ve been here for almost 14 years, but we’ve been in the bicycle business for almost 30 and we’ve never seen anything like this,” Kinnee said.

Demand for bikes and bike repairs are way up, she said.  But Retro City Cycles’ Lake Ivanhoe location is a bit cramped, which has forced her to limit the number of customers inside her store to three at a time. That and other socially distancing requirements are listed on signs on the store’s front door. Those are safety measures the county strike, or compliance, teams will be looking for.

The measure approved Tuesday by a county committee calls for the county to use teams made up of code enforcement officers, health workers, and other county staffers to randomly inspect businesses of all types to make sure they’re following county and CDC guidelines.

Right now, county leaders say their intention is not to issue fines or penalties, but to educate businesses.  But in some cases, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings says more may have to be done.

“Where the infraction is egregious, that may very well be referred for additional regulatory enforcement,” Demings said.

Kinnee said she doesn’t mind if the county checks up on her business. She said she’s happy to take the safety measures – steps she believes will help lead to better days ahead.

“It is so important that we just all do our part to get through this and push through and then have everybody open and thriving once again,” Kinnee said.

Demings said it's about making the area safer.

“We look to that group to begin to move out into the community to help educate our businesses and individuals about the necessity to follow those CDC guidelines and without some type of accountability measure in place, we can’t get to where we really need to be as a community," he said.

“They will be gathering information, intelligence, data, and if we see there’s a significant number that’s not, if we feel that’s something that’s a right for this community, I will not hesitate to use my authority."

And in some cases where needed, the strike teams will hand out signs with public health messaging and PPE to the businesses.

According to the measure passed by the Orange County committee, the team will focus on businesses in violation of the following provisions of the Order:

• Practicing social distancing by staying at least 6 feet apart.
• Employees and patrons of businesses that require employees and patrons to be within 6 feet must wear a face mask or covering.
• Checkout points and staging areas, including storefronts, mark  floors or similar actions to maintain a 6-foot distance between patrons and employees.
• Posting signage throughout each physical location reminding patrons and employees to observe the social distancing requirements.

Actions taken by the team, according to the measure, may include any of the following:

• A site visit.
• A discussion about the nature of the violation(s).
• A review of mask compliance, sanitation, business best practices, etc.
• Education to the business about the need for the executive order.
• Providing materials (posters with public health messaging, personal protective equipment [PPE], etc.) to the business.

In the meantime, Demings said code enforcement authorities and the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation could get involved with any businesses that are not cooperating. Those agencies have the power to do much more than just issue fines.

According to the Health Department, the county's rolling average from the past two weeks is 16 percent positive. The county is also seeing its highest rates of hospitalizations and ICU stays.