Gov. Ron DeSantis is standing against further state-supported coronavirus restrictions in Florida as the Sunshine State once again experiences an upward trend in cases.
Speaking at a news conference in Miami on Tuesday, DeSantis made it clear that no Floridian will be restricted, mandated, or locked down in any possible way as long as he remains in power.
“So just let me say it very clearly to all Floridians, you just saw Philadelphia impose an indoor mandate. You’re going to have potentially some of these other ‘Deep Blue’ jurisdictions go back to restrictions and mandates,” DeSantis said. “You look what’s happening in Shanghai, they have everybody under a brutal lockdown. So I just want to be very clear, as long as I sit in the chair in which I sit, no Floridian will be restricted, mandated or locked down in any possible way.”
In his statement, DeSantis reacted to Philadelphia’s reinstatement of an indoor mask mandate after the city’s leaders framed their Monday announcement as a pre-emptive move, nothing a significant increase in Covid-19 cases believed to be driven by the BA.2 subvariant of omicron.
The governor also referenced the ongoing Covid-19 restrictions in Shanghai, where it was reported on Tuesday that 23,342 people tested positive for the virus in one day, with only 994 of them showed symptoms.
WHO announced on Tuesday that new COVID-19 cases and death worldwide have fallen for a third week straight, yet advised that the decreases should be cautiously interpreted.
Over the last few weeks in central Florida, cases of the virus have shown a rising trend.
In a statement on Monday, Seminole County Medical Director Dr. Todd Husty said many Americans have let down their guards.
“It’s not just spring break doing this, it’s all of us. Nobody is wearing a mask, almost none of us,” Husty said. “My experts who I’ve listened to, who have been right-on, have predicted late April, early May, a spike, and look, we’re starting to creep up.”
