file | Raquel Hears receives a COVID-19 rapid test to be able to travel abroad Saturday, July 31, 2021, in North Miami.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis doubled down on Tuesday as the state again broke its record for COVID-19 hospitalizations, insisting the spike would end soon and that he would impose no business restrictions or mask mandates .
DeSantis said he expects hospitalizations to rise in the next few weeks, emphasizing that the spike is seasonal as Floridians spend more time indoors to escape the summer heat and humidity. The more contagious delta variant is now spreading faster, with Florida hitting 11,515 hospitalized patients on Tuesday, breaking last year’s record for the third straight day. The number of hospitalizations has increased 11-fold from over 1,000 COVID patients hospitalized in mid-June. About 2,400 patients are now in intensive care.
DeSantis credits his response to COVID, which has focused on vaccinating seniors and nursing home residents, to the fact that fewer Floridians are dying now than last August. A year ago, Florida averaged about 180 COVID deaths per day in early August, but last week averaged about 55 per day.
“Even in a lot of positive tests, you’re seeing a much lower mortality rate than you’ve had year after year,” he said at a Miami-area press conference. “Will I have 5,000 cases among 20-year-olds or 500 cases among seniors? I would rather be younger. “
He said record hospitalizations would cause “media hysteria” people who may have suffered a heart attack or stroke to avoid going to the emergency room for fear of being infected, as data show in the past. The year happened.
“People were having heart attacks at home because either they felt there was not enough room in the hospital or they had COVID and died,” he said.
Hospitals around the state report emergency room patients to beds in hallways and are documenting a significant decline in patients’ lifespans. Some hospitals are again banning visitors or postponing elective surgeries.
DeSantis is running for re-election next year with an eye on a 2024 presidential bid and has refused to enforce a mask mandate in public or schools or ban businesses a central tenant of his national image among conservatives. has refused. He hit that message again on Tuesday, saying he would not budge.
“We’re not closing,” DeSantis said. “We are going to open schools. We are protecting the job of every Floridian in this state. We are protecting people’s small businesses. These interventions have repeatedly failed during this pandemic, not only in the United States but abroad. They haven’t stopped the spread, especially with Delta.”
The spike comes as DeSantis and local officials battle to protect children and staff as the school year begins.
Broward County’s school board last week voted to require face coverings when in-person learning resumes this month, implementing the latest recommendations from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But the board reversed itself when DeSantis signed an executive order halting the mask mandate in schools, and empowering the state to refuse funding to any districts that don’t comply.
Broward’s board had responded to the latest science on the virus, which suggests that even though vaccinated people are far less likely to be hospitalized or die from COVID-19, they can still spread the infection to people who have gotten their shots. Have not taken. The revelation prompted the CDC to recommend “universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status.”
“Unfortunately, Dade and Broward lead the country in county hospitalizations,” Broward County Mayor Steve Geller said Monday. “The numbers are doubling every 10 or 11 days. geometric progression. It’s terrifying.”
The governor said he wants parents to decide whether their children should wear masks to school.
A law DeSantis signed in May gives him the power to invalidate local emergency public health measures, including mask mandates and limits on business operations. It also prohibits any business or government entity from requiring proof of vaccination.
The Broward District now says it will encourage students age 12 and older, as well as teachers and staff, to get vaccinated, but it is not required. It will also encourage the use of facial coverings.
“Safety remains our top priority,” the district statement said.
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