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Florida Is Facing a Coronavirus Catastrophe
Last edited Tue Mar 31, 2020, 01:11 PM - Edit history (1)
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/03/ron-desantis-coronavirus-florida-new-york-trump.htmlFollowing Trump’s lead, Gov. Ron DeSantis refused to shut down the state. Now he’s scapegoating New Yorkers for surging infections.
So why is DeSantis refusing to compel all Floridians to stay home? From the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, DeSantis has adopted whatever policies seem to mollify Donald Trump. That is no surprise. During the 2018 Florida gubernatorial primary, Trump endorsed DeSantis, effectively clinching the nomination for the previously obscure congressman. In return, Trump expects DeSantis to ensure that he’ll win Florida in the 2020 presidential election. But the governor has reportedly done little to help Trump, neglecting the state’s Republican infrastructure necessary to churn out GOP voters while paying insufficient fealty to the president. On March 5, Politico reported that the “bad blood” between the two men might soon spill out into the open.
It has not—probably because in the intervening weeks, DeSantis has adopted Trump’s disastrously negligent, hands-off approach to the virus.
Trump has richly rewarded DeSantis for toeing the White House’s line. The president showered DeSantis with praise at a Saturday press briefing, declaring: “He’s a very talented guy. He’s a very good governor. Everyone loves him. He’s doing a fantastic job for Florida.” The federal government has also given Florida adequate medical supplies from the national stockpile while denying them to states with Democratic governors. According to the Washington Post, for instance, Maine asked for a half-million N95 masks and received about 5 percent of what it requested. Florida, by contrast, requested 430,000 surgical masks, 180,000 N95 respirators, 82,000 face shields, and 238,000 gloves—and received it all within three days.
And yet, despite doing everything Trump could ask for, DeSantis has failed miserably to contain COVID-19. The state still isn’t testing nearly enough people, allowing the virus to spread silently while county officials implement public health measures that Desantis rejects. In the Miami region, infections may soon reach New York City levels, straining hospital capacity and forcing doctors to ration scarce equipment like ventilators. DeSantis has responded to this emerging catastrophe by looking the other way and continually targeting New Yorkers. In addition to the interstate checkpoints, the governor has stationed members of the National Guard at Florida’s airports, where troops screen travelers from the New York region and direct them to self-quarantine for two weeks. “After all the hard work,” DeSantis explained, “we don’t want it to now get seeded as people flee the hot zone.” His spokeswoman decried New Yorkers visiting Florida, accusing them of carrying the virus into Florida, “unwittingly or not.”
Randy Fine, a Republican state representative and DeSantis ally, was even more explicit in maligning New Yorkers. “Seems like some of our friends from New York are trying very hard to make us like New York,” Fine said on Monday. “We don’t know how many people those criminals spread the virus to here.”
It has not—probably because in the intervening weeks, DeSantis has adopted Trump’s disastrously negligent, hands-off approach to the virus.
Trump has richly rewarded DeSantis for toeing the White House’s line. The president showered DeSantis with praise at a Saturday press briefing, declaring: “He’s a very talented guy. He’s a very good governor. Everyone loves him. He’s doing a fantastic job for Florida.” The federal government has also given Florida adequate medical supplies from the national stockpile while denying them to states with Democratic governors. According to the Washington Post, for instance, Maine asked for a half-million N95 masks and received about 5 percent of what it requested. Florida, by contrast, requested 430,000 surgical masks, 180,000 N95 respirators, 82,000 face shields, and 238,000 gloves—and received it all within three days.
And yet, despite doing everything Trump could ask for, DeSantis has failed miserably to contain COVID-19. The state still isn’t testing nearly enough people, allowing the virus to spread silently while county officials implement public health measures that Desantis rejects. In the Miami region, infections may soon reach New York City levels, straining hospital capacity and forcing doctors to ration scarce equipment like ventilators. DeSantis has responded to this emerging catastrophe by looking the other way and continually targeting New Yorkers. In addition to the interstate checkpoints, the governor has stationed members of the National Guard at Florida’s airports, where troops screen travelers from the New York region and direct them to self-quarantine for two weeks. “After all the hard work,” DeSantis explained, “we don’t want it to now get seeded as people flee the hot zone.” His spokeswoman decried New Yorkers visiting Florida, accusing them of carrying the virus into Florida, “unwittingly or not.”
Randy Fine, a Republican state representative and DeSantis ally, was even more explicit in maligning New Yorkers. “Seems like some of our friends from New York are trying very hard to make us like New York,” Fine said on Monday. “We don’t know how many people those criminals spread the virus to here.”
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