Remember when Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (right) issued a press release on October 27 with the headline “Florida hits lowest case rate in the country”?This was, by the way, after Florida experienced “one of the largest summer peaks in the country,” in the words of Ed Browne, writing for Newsweek.
Well, pity for the “lowest case rate. “On Thursday, Florida set a new record for the number of Covid-19 cases reported in one day with 31,758. That’s more than the previous record of 27,669, set Aug. 26, according to Andrea Torres and David Selig for Local10. com. So if you’re planning a winter getaway to the Sunshine State soon, you might need to keep an eye out for the news.
The following News4JAX covered Thursday’s new record:
Then, on Friday, the state broke the record again with 32,850 new cases reported, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Before the pandemic, Florida had long been a popular winter getaway destination, probably more so than Prospect Creek Camp, Alaska. Right now, the temperature in Miami, Florida, is 78°F, compared to 9°F in Prospect Creek. Florida’s peak season tends to begin around Thanksgiving and grow through mid-April, M wrote. Rotondo for The Points Guy (TPG), an American online page and blog. Therefore, the Florida governor’s October 27 press release came here. A little ahead of this peak season, which possibly or possibly hasn’t been a coincidence.
Anyway, it turns out that this press release would possibly have been a bit of an “untimely statement. “First date, or bragging about a low case rate while you’re still in the middle of a pandemic. As we have noticed many times in this pandemic, inopportune things can leave a lot of sadness and a big mess.
The following tweet from Daniel Uhlfelder, a Florida attorney, reported that “DeSantis has declared victory over covid-19” several times during the pandemic:
Of course, “declared victory” is a subjective term. However, it appears that Florida has had untimely relaxations of Covid-19 precautions during the pandemic. Covid-19 precautions like wearing a face mask, social distancing, and vaccination are a bit like showering. Don’t wait until halfway through an appointment to say, “Oh, forgive me as I step by to take a shower. “Instead, you should maintain a proper hygiene point that does not force raccoons to cover their noses.
Similarly, as long as the pandemic remains a national emergency, precautions against Covid-19 should be maintained, especially in the face of any imaginable expected increase, such as the one currently occurring. The existing winter wave was never a general surprise. I warned of a possible buildup this winter in August and November. Still, many other people continued to act as if the pandemic was like the TV series Game of Thrones, it’s over.
For much of the pandemic, DeSantis hasn’t been very encouraging about wearing face masks and social distancing. In fact, his management has even prevented local officials from taking difficult measures, as I’ve already covered for Forbes. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla. ) claimed that “there is no one else in the United States, I think, who has done more to make it harder to keep other people healthy than Ron DeSantis. “
DeSantis has also fought covid-19 vaccination requirements, even though Florida has fallen as part of U. S. states. The U. S. Department of Health and Prevention for vaccination coverage is concerned. According to a list compiled through Katie Adams for Becker’s Hospital Review, at 6 a. m. EDT on December 22, with 62. 99% of its population fully vaccinated, Florida ranked 23rd out of 50 states plus Washington, DC.
You may not take advantage of the chance to eat a snack that ranked 23rd out of 51 in a baking contest. Such a rating in immunization policy is not exactly a “winner” either. However, the governor’s Oct. 27 press release included the following quote from DeSantis: “Without a court order or lockdown, COVID-19 cases in Florida have decreased by 90% since August. In addition to cases, hospitalizations have decreased in our state. This has been accomplished by manufacturing drugs and vaccines with monoclonal antibodies widely available in our state while protecting Floridians from government excesses.
Um, Covid-19 cases tend to fall into a state after a Covid-19 outbreak in the same way that partygoers leave their space after eating all the food and drinking all their beer. Once viruses have inflamed so many other people, they will necessarily run out of other people to infect and move into other spaces where other more vulnerable people might be available. Of course, vaccination could have helped reduce the number of cases. But it’s not like Florida leads the country in immunization coverage.
The replacement of the stations, coupled with the lack of good enough precautions against Covid-19, has likely caused the existing winter increase. Yes, the Omicron variant of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can also fuel the existing winter surge. But don’t blame the boost only on the Omicron variant. COVID-19 cases were already surging in other parts of the United States in November, before the Omicron variant spread. Will this winter surge save politicians?of making ill-timed declarations of victory over the pandemic in the future?Possibly it would be a bit inopportune to say so.