Governor Ron DeSantis declared Friday that there will not be any new COVID-19 restrictions in Florida as the state health department repor...
Governor Ron DeSantis declared Friday that there will not be any new COVID-19 restrictions in Florida as the state health department reported a 50% jump in coronavirus cases this week.
This data shows a continuing a six-week surge, making the state the outbreak's epicenter and responsible for 1 in 5 new infections nationally.
The Florida Department of Health's report came just hours after DeSantis signed an executive order banning schools from requiring students to wear face masks when they return to class next month.
His edict, which is effective immediately, also stressed that 'all parents have the right to make healthcare decisions for their minor children,' - such as whether to mask them up.
Meanwhile, more than 110,000 new coronavirus cases were reported statewide over the past week, up from 73,000 last week and 11 times the 10,000 reported the week of June 11, six weeks ago. Case numbers are now back to where they in January, just before vaccinations became widely available.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, pictured in Miami on July 13, has introduced an executive order banning schools from making students wear masks
COVID infections are rising again in Florida, with 17,589 new cases reported on Thursday. Deaths have remained relatively flat, with half of all residents fully-vaccinated
The state reported 409 deaths this week, bringing the total to more than 39,000 since its first in March 2020. The state's peak happened in mid-August 2020, when 1,266 people died over a seven-day period. Deaths usually follow increases in hospitalizations by a few weeks.
Just under half - 48 per cent - of Floridians are fully vaccinated against COVID. A slightly higher number - 57 per cent - have received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine.
DeSantis has blamed the surge in cases on a seasonal increase saying more Floridians are indoors because of the hot weather with air conditioning circulating the virus.
Speaking at a Cape Coral event hours before signing the order, the GOP lawmaker said his executive order barring mask mandates at schools will improve students' experience and make it easier for them to focus on learning.
He argued that making children wear masks 'may lead to negative health and societal ramifications...could inhibit breathing, lead to the collection of dangerous impurities and adversely affect communications in the classroom and student performance.'
'I have (three) young kids. My wife and I are not going to do the masks with the kids; we never have,' DeSantis shared. 'I want to see my kids smiling. I want them having fun.'
The governor's executive order also said that 'there is no statistically significant evidence to suggest that counties with mask requirements have feared any better than those without.'
DeSantis was cheered by supporters as he made the pronouncement, and also welcomed parents who are against masks to address the crowd.
'I think that this decision about whether parents want their kids to have to wear masks all day at school, I think that's a decision that falls squarely within the concord of this Parents' Bill of Rights that I signed,' the governor said.
The governor also vowed not to re-impose any COVID rules as cases surge because of the Indian 'Delta' variant, DeSantis continued: 'In Florida, there will be no lockdowns, there will be no school closures, there will be no restrictions and no mandates in the state of Florida.'
DeSantis signed an executive order Friday (above) saying that making children wear masks 'may lead to negative health and societal ramifications,' as well as adversely impact their academic performance
The governor's newly-signed order puts him on a collision course with two Florida school districts, in Broward and Gadsden Counties.
Both have warned students that they must wear masks when they return to school next month
The new executive order supersedes those rules, and will likely trigger confrontations between pro-mask school workers and parents as well as students who are opposed to masks.
DeSantis also vowed to call a special session of the state assembly if schools ignored his planned order.
Vaccines are currently only available to children aged 12 and over. Pro-maskers say letting them go barefaced in class risks an infection spike - and harming those who are unvaccinated or immunocompromised.
Supporters' of DeSantis's policy say children rarely fall seriously-ill with COVID, and cite the availability of vaccines for adults as reason to avoid mask rules.
DeSantis's announcement on his order drew fury from state teachers' union the Florida Education Association, the Tallahassee Democrat reported.
A spokesman said: 'Whether it is mandating a pay plan that requires teachers with 15 years of experience to be paid the same as a first-year teacher or telling locally elected officials they cannot enforce recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics, Gov. DeSantis continues to think that Tallahassee knows best what all Floridians need,' FEA President Andrew Spar said.
'We ... ask Gov. DeSantis to allow all Florida's citizens to have a voice by empowering the elected leaders of cities, counties and school districts to make health and safety decisions locally based on their unique needs and circumstances.'
Democratic State Representative Anna Eskamani also condemned the move, tweeting: 'Our Governor continues to prioritize his own political agenda over the health and well being of Floridians by going after masks.
A worker checks' kids temperatures at Baldwin Park Elementary School in Orlando last August. DeSantis's planned executive order would supersede compulsory mask rules recently announced by two Florida school districts, Broward and Gadsden
Democrat state representative Anna Eskamani issued two tweets claiming DeSantis's mooted executive order would 'endanger lives'
'Meanwhile homelessness and poverty are legitimate issues he could be focused on. But NOPE, let's keep on w/the culture wars & endanger lives.'
She then invoked another culture war issue, writing: ''Defends Freedom of Choice' is what Republicans are saying during the Governor's anti-mask press conference; I'll be sure to re-quote them when we're debating against proposed abortion bans in the upcoming legislative session!'
But Florida State Speaker Chris Sprowls issued a statement saying he 'applauded' his fellow Republicans' 'decisive action'
He said: 'While there are some public officials who will seek to use the power of government to compel uniformity and adherence to their preferred course of conduct, that approach is not in keeping with Florida values.
'Gov. DeSantis recognizes that parents are in the best position to make choices for their children. His actions today demonstrate his faith and trust in our fellow Floridians, and he – and they – have my full support.'
Protesters campaign against mask mandates outside a school board meeting in Hillsborough County in Tampa, Florida, on Tuesday, with pro-mask schools and parents now on a collision course with the state itself
And Florida Senate President Wilton Simpson, who is also a Republican, hailed the governor for letting parents decide for themselves whether to make their children wear masks.
He said: 'I trust Florida parents to evaluate all of the information available and make the best decision about whether their children will be wearing a mask when they return to school next month
DeSantis - a close ally of Donald Trump, and possible future GOP presidential candidate - lifted all Florida's remaining COVID restrictions in May.
The governor has taken several steps to limit COVID-19 protocols in Florida.
In June, he signed a bill into law that prohibits individual counties within Florida from imposing any new rules.
In April, he signed an emergency order banning Covid-19 vaccine 'passports' claiming they are 'completely unacceptable' and would create 'two classes of citizens'. The order prevented any state-run organization and private business from demanding that their staff or customers show a vaccine passport to work there or gain services.
He also initiated a lawsuit against the CDC over the No Sail Orders that were in effect for cruise ships. He argued that the continued ban against cruises was hurting Florida and had no effect on the pandemic, citing instances of cruising resuming elsewhere in the world. He also noted that Americans are flying to the nearby Bahamas to board ships.
In June, the federal district court in Tampa ruled in favor of the state and concluded the CDC's restrictions were likely unconstitutional and overstepping their legal authority. The health organization's order became guidance at that point.
On Friday, DeSantis also said he has no plans to re-enact a state of emergency, even though Florida leads the US with new COVID infections. The state is currently responsible for around 20 per cent of all new diagnoses in the United States.
Florida is seeing an increase in vaccination rates as well as weekly cases of COVID-19
New case positivity rates in the state have increased by nearly 15% in the past two months
Daily COVID deaths in the state have remained relatively static in recent months, with 56 people losing their lives to the virus on Thursday
The Florida Hospital Association reported Friday that statewide COVID-19 hospitalizations are nearing last year's peak.
More than 9,300 patients are hospitalized, up from 1,845 a month ago and nearing the record 10,179 set on July 23, 2020. On a per capita basis, Florida now has more people hospitalized than any other state.
Hospitals across the state are reportedly seeing a rise of COVID in young cases, the Miami Herald reported. Officials say nearly all of these patients were not vaccinated and required intensive care.
Juana Mejia, the COVID ICU nurse manager at Memorial Hospital Miramar, located in southern Florida, told the newspaper the hospital chain is treating COVID patients in their 30s, 40s and 50s, which trends much younger than the patients they were treating last year.
The hospital also noted that they are seeing an increase in COVID-related hospitalizations. On June 19, Memorial Health had fewer than 90 patients with COVID-19. However, on Friday that number was 420.
'It is very sad to have someone dying in the ICU by themselves without the touch of their family, without seeing a loved one,' Mejia said. 'And the only person or the only place that they see is a face of a stranger, of a nurse.'
At Tampa General Hospital, the 90-plus patients hospitalized with COVID already exceeds the previous high of 86, said Dr. Seetha Lakshmi, medical director of its Global Emerging Diseases Institute. She said the hospital, like many, can't hire enough staff and it is leaving those working exhausted.
'It feels like we are getting hit by a train, the pace is so fast and uncontrolled,' Laskshmi said. 'I just don´t have any words anymore. This is awful, just awful and it is going to be awful.'
She said last year, her patients' median age was in the 70s. Now, it is just over 50, with the younger patients getting sicker than in the past.
She pointed to a patient in his early 30s whose lungs 'sound like Velcro' being pulled apart. A father of young children, he will likely have permanent damage and might need a transplant eventually, she said.
She said 83% of Tampa General's COVID patients are unvaccinated while the others have immune-deficiency issues that prevented the vaccine from working.
Hospital officials are urging all citizens to get vaccinated, wear masks and practice social distancing amid the surge.
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