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Credit Destin-Fort Walton Beach Convention Center Okaloosa County Board of Commissioners voted 5-0 Tuesday morning to remove the mask mandate at the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Convention Center on Okaloosa Island starting May 15. Safety practices such as social distancing and limiting capacity to 75% will remain in effect. The non-agenda item was brought to the board Tuesday morning by Chairwoman Carolyn Ketchel, a strong proponent for masks last summer as the county and the state were experiencing a surge of COVID cases. At the meeting, Ketchel said it should be up to individuals whether to mask up. “At this point, we have so many people vaccinated, or those who have the opportunity to vaccinate, and think it’s really a personal choice whether we wear a mask or not at this point,” she said. ....