Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said Florida will no longer be imposing lockdowns despite a recent surge in Covid19 cases. Doing so would damage the economy without saving lives, he said.
“We’re not going back, closing things,” DeSantis told reporters yesterday. “I don’t think that that really is what’s driving it, people going to a business is not what’s driving it. I think when you see the younger folks, I think a lot of it is more just social interactions, so that’s natural. Obviously, you had a lot of different activities going on in different parts of the state. … So that’s just the reality.”
While cases in Florida are increasing, many of the new patients are in younger age groups and are not becoming seriously ill.
DeSantis believes Florida can protect the most vulnerable in society without imposing a lockdown on the entire state’s population.
“We’re open, we know who we need to protect, most of the folks in those younger demographics, although we want them to be mindful of what’s going on, are just simply much much less at risk than the folks who are in those older age groups,” DeSantis said.
The Governor did however warn businesses such as bars and restaurants that while remaining open they still need to observe social distancing guidelines and that failure to do so may result in the state revoking business licenses.
“If you go in and it’s just mayhem, like ‘Dance Party USA’ and it’s packed to the rafters, that’s just cut-and-dry and that’s not just an innocent mistake,” DeSantis said.
Photo by Florida National Guard