Good morning,
Florida Covid
I am still on vacation in Florida where I have been a regular visitor for years. Not last year though because of the pandemic, but this year we managed to come from London although it was the only way to see my mother after a year and a half of quarantines.
So upon landing from the future we looked with huge concern on what was about to be. The future because England was already suffering from the rapid spread of the Delta variant, and we knew quickly the numbers here would rise. And I say with concern because most people here refuse masks whether its in malls or elevators or in stores, and in those closed environments the variants thrives and spreads.
So it’s of little surprise Florida has now become the epicenter of new Covid cases in the U.S. with 21,683 cases reported in one day and that’s a record high since the start of the pandemic.
It came a day after Ron DeSantis signed an executive order prohibiting school districts from requiring staff and students to wear masks. DeSantis has played politics with the virus since it began, courting voter support for his possible Presidential ambitions denying Covid rules under the ridiculous banner of freedoms.
“The federal government has no right to tell parents that in order for their kids to attend school in person they must be forced to wear a mask all day, every day,” DeSantis said on Friday.
But the virus spreads amongst children to the most vulnerable who even though they are vaccinated can still get the new variants and spread them as well.
DeSantis has urged residents to get vaccinated but has criticized CDC guidance on masking dismissing the surge as seasonal.
Hospitals say they are being overwhelmed by mostly of younger unvaccinated patients. Over the last week, 409 Floridians have died of Covid-19, with the total above 39,000.
Florida is only half way with vaccinations with 48.8% of residents over 12 fully vaccinated and 57.5% having received at least one dose.
DeSantis has further upped his political game even as cases rise announcing the State may withhold funding to schools if they make masks mandatory. There will be no public health priorities on his watch, not when disinformation and political mayhem pay dividends, even if costs lives.
I guess that’s why we receive those odds looks in stores when my family don our masks, but were not from Florida, where you would think older more sensible people would understand the health risk is in not protecting yourself or the people around you.