The governor of Florida rises to defend individual freedom. Ron DeSantis criticizes US President Biden for his course in the fight against the pandemic as a “power-hungry tyrant”. But nowhere are there as many new infections as in Florida.
The governor forbids school districts to introduce masking requirements for students and teachers. DeSantis regularly brings up the top infectious disease specialist Anthony Fauci, tries to discredit the CDC and describes New York as a “bio-medical safety state” because of the required vaccination certificates for restaurant and cinema visitors. At the same time, the governor accuses “illegal immigrants” of bringing in the pandemic.
DeSantis positions itself as an opponent of US President Joe Biden. The governor responded to his criticism of his course in Florida that he “didn’t want to hear a peep about Covid from him.” “If you’re not helping, at least avoid people who are trying to do the right thing,” Biden said earlier this week.
The president referred to DeSanti’s threats to cut funds from public schools and universities if they fail to comply with his ban on requiring masking. At the same time, he banned local protective measures and granted citizens who opposed such mandates a free ticket.
“Don’t close it again”
According to official figures from the US health authority CDC, Florida is one of the states in which the delta variant is spreading particularly quickly. With one in five new Covid infections, the realm of maskless freedom is contributing more than any other member state to the fourth wave of the pandemic in the USA. In the last three days alone, the CDC registered 50,000 infections and 100 deaths. While the intensive care units of the hospitals with almost 12,000 seriously ill patients from COVID are reaching the limits of their capacity, DeSantis is downplaying the problem. It is a “seasonal” increase. “We’re not going to close Florida again.”
The Mayor of Miami Beach, Dan Gelber, thinks this is irresponsible. “He’s the rat catcher who leads us over the cliff,” said Gelber, criticizing the populist’s interference. “We are by far the most infected state.”
DeSantis also gets counter pressure in the school districts, which are openly rebelling. The responsible supervisory authorities in large administrative districts retained their mandate to wear masks. The ban on masks in schools in particular harbors risks for the governor, who is up for re-election next year. Because children are considered particularly vulnerable because the COVID vaccines in the USA are approved from the age of twelve at the earliest.
According to observers, DeSantis is deliberately seeking a confrontation with the president. In this way he tries to recommend himself to his party as Trump’s political heir. (Spang)
