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VERO BEACH Mask mandate advocates and opponents crowded City Hall Tuesday, as much as possible under social distancing guidelines.

The City Council discussed whether it shouldmandate people wear masks in public, but didn't have enough members to support the measure.

The council neededa supermajority of the five members to pass an emergency mandate, Mayor Tony Young said, but JoeGraves and Robbie Brackettopposed it.

The city currently requires people wear masks only inside city-owned facilities.

Vero Beach Mayor Tony Young(Photo: Provided by American Cancer Society)

The city needs to do something more to slow the spread of the coronavirus, said Young, who advocated for a mandate.

"We cannot do nothing," Young said. "Doing nothing is negligence."

More: Indian River County delays start of 2020-2021 school year

Joseph Graves, Vero Beach(Photo: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO FROM JOSEPH GRAVES)

Graves said there was not conclusive scientific evidence to pass a mandate. Brackett agreed, saying masks were a matter of "personal responsibility." While both said the city should encourage people to wear masks, amandate would be difficult to enforce, resulting in confrontations at stores and in public, they said.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention "reviewed the latest science and affirms that cloth face coverings are a critical tool in the fight against COVID-19," the CDC website says. "There is increasing evidence that cloth face coverings help prevent people who have COVID-19 from spreading the virus to others."

Councilman Rey Neville, who is recovering from COVID-19, had asked the council to consider a stronger mask mandate requiring the public and business employees who serve the public to wear masks. He called the two opposing votes "disappointing."

Rey Neville, Vero Beach(Photo: PHOTO SUBMITTED BY REY NEVILLE)

"What I don't want to have happen in our community is go back to anothershutdown," Neville said.

Wearing masks, along with social distancing and hand-washing, can help slow the spread of COVID-19, said Dr. Charles Callahan of Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital, which currently has enough available capacity to treat patients.

If action is not taken, "we're going to be just like South Florida, and it's going to be within the next 30 days," Callahan said. "If we wait a month, we're going to be in much worse shape than we are in."

A crowd of about 50 residents gathered outside the Vero Beach City Hall on Tuesday, July 21, 2020, showing their support for or against a city mandate requiring citizens to wear face masks. With two councilmen Joe Graves and Robbie Brackett opposed to a mandate, the council opted against moving forward with drafting a proposed ordinance.(Photo: PATRICK DOVE/TCPALM)

About 50 people waving signs and flags for their position stood outside City Hall and in the building's lobby.

"I hope they vote for science, and I hope they vote for safety," said Vero Beach resident Gary Kendrick. "The numbers don't lie. It's not about politics. It's about health."

Kathy Brayton held a sign urging people to "be a good neighbor, wear a mask." It's the right thing to do, she said."How hard can it be?" she asked.

Others said mask mandates infringeon their rights.

"Freedom to me is all about choice," said Vero Beach resident Richard Allen. "If you take my choice, you take my freedom."

More: Hospital board asks County Commission to mandate masks in public

Lindsay Lacy, of Sebastian, shows her support of wearing face masks on Tuesday, July 21, 2020, in front of the City Hall in Vero Beach. The council held discussions on whether to draft a mandate, but with two councilmen - Joe Graves and Robbie Brackett - opposed to a mandate, the council opted against moving forward with drafting a proposed ordinance. (Photo: PATRICK DOVE/TCPALM)

The scene was similar to the July 14 County Commission meeting, where over 50 peopleprotested a proposed mask mandate for the public, excluding young children and those unable to wear a mask because of health conditions.

The County Commission rejected themandate 3-2, withSusan Adams and Peter O'Bryan supporting the mandate.

The county currently mandates masks only for restaurant servers and people visiting county facilities.

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Vero Beach City Council rejects more restrictive mask mandate for the public - TCPalm