With the increase in cases and hospitalizations, many are calling on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to re-enact Florida’s COVID state of emergency.
DeSantis initially issued the state of emergency declaration on March 9, 2020 and extended it for over one year. DeSantis opted to not renew it in June, making June 26, 2021 the end of the declaration. The 476-day state of emergency was the longest in Florida’s history.
DeSantis has maintained declaring a new state of emergency is not necessary because of the widespread access to vaccines and varied treatments the state of Florida is authorizing, like monoclonal antibody treatment.
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, earlier in August, said she was urging DeSantis to reinstate the declaration.
“It is 2:30 on Monday. And we still, as of today, as of right this second, do not have updated numbers from the weekend and from Monday,” Fried said. “Governor, Department of Health, what are you waiting for? It is time governor, to issue an emergency order.”
University of Central Florida Political Science Professor Aubrey Jewett said DeSantis’ decision to not reinstate the state of emergency is partially politically motivated.
“I think it is to some degree DeSantis has his sincerely held belief that he views the pandemic as a problem but he worries about government overreach and government mandates and impinging on people’s freedoms,” Jewett said. “I think certainly part of it though is politics. He’s running for reelection. A lot of people think he may also want to run for president if he gets reelected as governor. So the actions that he’s taking are designed to appeal to the base of his party.”
Also earlier this month, DeSantis hosted a roundtable discussion with some of Florida’s hospital CEOs, and they confirmed they are seeing a rise in cases, but the patients coming in are averaging 20 years younger compared to the patients during the height of positive cases in 2020.
“It’s skewing younger. They are not as sick,” said Tampa General CEO John Couris.
They noted the younger population of cases Florida is currently seeing is more suited to deal with the virus, and DeSantis’ effort to get the elderly vaccinated seems to be working.
“I would say overall, governor, we absolutely did see the benefit of that hard push to vaccinate the older populations in our communities,” said Dr. George Ralls, chief medical officer for Orlando Health.
– – –
Grant Holcomb is a reporter at the Florida Capital Star and The Star News Network. Follow Grant on Twitter and direct message tips.
