Urban League of Broward County’s Governor Ron DeSantis announced the introduction of coronavirus test sites at a press conference in April.
Ta ta, 2020. Don’t let the door open on you on your way out.
That busy year came to an end when the first Floridians began the highly anticipated vaccinations, which were seen as a crucial step towards a return to normal amid the coronavirus pandemic.
With Inauguration Day just around the corner, President Donald Trump seems to have heightened the country’s collective fear. The Republican president refused to recognize that President-elect Joe Biden will move into the White House on January 20.
DeSantis had been on duty for a little over a year when COVID-19 hit the state in March.
The disease struck the Sunshine State over the course of the next nine months.
The Republican governor, who has been aloof with the press since campaigning for the nationwide position, has drawn immense heat for his handling of the virus.
DeSantis ordered sweeping closings in the spring, which caused a buzz in the business world and dealt a blow to the state’s once boisterous economy.
Bar owners, restaurateurs and vacation rental operators condemned the closure, accusing DeSantis and local government officials of crippling small businesses.
DeSantis gradually began removing restrictions in May and all but eliminated them in late September, banning city and county officials from closing restaurants and collecting fines from those who do not wear face masks.
Democrats and other critics, who have consistently pushed for a nationwide mask mandate, continue to lament that the governor has not done enough to contain the spread of COVID-19 in Florida.
Forced closings and required reopenings sparked a flurry of legal challenges, including numerous lawsuits over local face mask regulations, an attack on beach closings, and efforts by Florida’s largest teachers’ union to halt a government-mandated restart of stationary schools for the fall semester.
Some teachers have chosen to retire early or step down for exposure to the highly contagious virus, but DeSantis has stood by the decision to give families the choice of sending their children back to school in person, or them to participate in distance learning.
But the Democrats continue to point the finger at DeSantis, accusing him of conceding COVID-19.
Since the first COVID-19 syringes arrived in Florida on December 14, DeSantis has toured the state to showcase its approach to distributing the highly anticipated doses of Pfizer Inc. and Moderna vaccines.
DeSantis says he is focused on making sure that millions of the state’s senior citizens are vaccinated first, along with people he calls “top of the line” health workers.
Long-term care facility residents and employees in Florida have borne a major brunt of the coronavirus. According to state health officials, nearly 83% of the state’s COVID-19 deaths involved people aged 65 and over. About 38% of deaths in the state involve residents and employees of long-term care facilities, with the vast majority being residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities, state reports show.
With tens of thousands of vaccinations underway, DeSantis drew the fire for rejecting proposed recommendations by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as to who should be given priority for the vaccinations. Recommendations from an advisory panel suggest that key workers such as first responders, grocery store clerks, teachers, and transport workers should be high on the list.
The federal government has released the first batches of vaccine to the states for use in long-term care facilities and hospitals.
DeSantis stressed last week that he would like all Floridians 65 and older to have priority.
“These recommendations, should the CDC accept them, are advisory, they are not binding on states. They do not bind individual governors. And they won’t bind the state of Florida, ”DeSantis said last week. “So let me be very, very clear. Our vaccines will target our elderly population. “
The federal health-approved vaccines – a scientific miracle – are testament to the Operation Warp Speed program launched by the administration of President Donald Trump to speed up the drug approval process that usually takes years.
The governor has steadfastly expressed solidarity with Trump, who defeated Biden by a comfortable three percentage points in Florida on November 3 – a landslide in the Sunshine State elections.
When asked if he would congratulate Biden on his victory, DeSantis defended his ally in the presidency.
“That’s not my job,” said DeSantis. “Here is what I would say. We did our thing in Florida and the Electoral College voted. What will happen will happen. I can tell you that the frustration for the people who supported the president was very frustrating that we spent four years people not accepting him. |
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