DeSantis won't move on masks as Florida COVID wards swell

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Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

A radical waits to get a COVID-19 test, Saturday, July 31, 2021, successful North Miami, Fla. Federal wellness officials accidental Florida has reported 21,683 caller cases of COVID-19, the state's highest one-day full since the commencement of the pandemic. The authorities has go the caller nationalist epicenter for the virus, accounting for astir a 5th of each caller cases successful the U.S. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has resisted mandatory disguise mandates and vaccine. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis connected Tuesday downplayed a spike successful COVID-19 cases that’s shattered authorities hospitalization records and powerfully reiterated his vow not to enforce a disguise mandate oregon immoderate concern restrictions.

With the overmuch much contagious delta variant present spreading exponentially, Florida deed 11,515 hospitalized patients Tuesday, breaking past year's grounds for the 3rd consecutive time and up from conscionable 1,000 successful mid-June.

DeSantis said helium expects hospitalizations to driblet successful the adjacent mates weeks, asserting that the spike is seasonal arsenic Floridians walk much clip unneurotic indoors to flight the summertime vigor and humidity.

DeSantis credited his effect to COVID-19, which has focused connected vaccinating seniors and nursing location residents, for the information that less Floridians are dying present than past August. A twelvemonth ago, Florida was averaging astir 180 COVID-19 deaths per time during an aboriginal August spike, but past week averaged 58 per day. However, 2,400 COVID-19 patients are successful an intensive attraction unit, and deaths wide don't spike until a fewer weeks aft hospitalizations.

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“Even among a batch of affirmative tests, you are seeing overmuch little mortality that you did year-over-year,” DeSantis said astatine a Miami-area property conference. “Would I alternatively person 5,000 cases among 20-year-olds oregon 500 cases among seniors? I would alternatively person the younger.”

DeSantis besides said “media hysteria” connected the swelling numbers could origin radical having bosom attacks oregon strokes to debar going to an exigency country for fearfulness of being infected. Doctors interviewed by The Associated Press acknowledged this happened during the aboriginal months of the pandemic, but accidental it's nary longer true, and that they're treating the accustomed fig of cardiac patients.

White House property caput Jen Psaki criticized policies successful states specified arsenic Texas and Florida that person moved to artifact employers and proprietors from implementing disguise oregon vaccine requirements. New York connected Tuesday became the nation’s archetypal large metropolis to denote it volition require impervious of vaccination astatine restaurants, shows and gyms.

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“Most Republican governors are doing precisely the close happening ... and advocating for and taking steps to advocator for much radical to get vaccinated. But if you aren’t going to help, if you aren’t going to abide by nationalist wellness guidance, past get retired of the mode and fto radical bash the close happening to pb successful their communities,” Psaki said.

Dr. O’Neil Pyke, main aesculapian serviceman astatine Jackson North Medical Center successful Miami, said galore Florida hospitals are facing staffing shortages. Hospitals besides study putting exigency country patients successful beds successful hallways, and immoderate are again banning visitors oregon postponing elective surgeries.

“They’re conscionable coming successful faster than we discharge them," said Justin Senior, CEO of Florida Safety Net Hospital Alliance, which represents immoderate of the state's largest hospitals caring for low-income patients. Still, helium said fewer hospitals volition tally retired of country arsenic they tin person non-traditional spaces similar league areas into COVID-19 wards.

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Penny Ceasar, who handles admissions astatine a infirmary adjacent Fort Lauderdale, wants the politician to necessitate vaccines for wellness attraction workers and masks for everyone. Ceasar said portion Westside Regional Medical Center has been getting impermanent unit from different states, the alarming fig of caller patients is taking a toll.

“You’re connected an affectional rollercoaster due to the fact that we attraction for our patients similar we attraction for our families,” said Ceasar, a 30-year veteran.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported much than 50,000 caller COVID-19 cases successful the authorities implicit the past 3 days, raising the seven-day mean to 1 of the highest counts since the pandemic began. In total, the authorities has seen much than 2.6 cardinal cases and 39,179 deaths.

DeSantis is moving for reelection adjacent twelvemonth portion eyeing a 2024 statesmanlike bid. A cardinal tenet of his nationalist representation among conservatives is his refusal to enforce disguise mandates oregon concern restrictions.

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“We are not shutting down,” DeSantis reiterated Tuesday. “We are going to person schools open. We are protecting each Floridian’s occupation successful this state. We are protecting people’s tiny businesses. These interventions person failed clip and clip again passim this pandemic, not conscionable successful the United States but abroad.”

DeSantis did promote radical to get vaccinated, saying shots supply a beardown defence against getting earnestly ill. About 95% of those hospitalized and astir each caller deaths person been among the unvaccinated, infirmary officials person said.

“You tin inactive trial positive, but astatine the extremity of the time you tin crook this from thing that was overmuch much threatening to a elder citizen, say, to thing that is much manageable,” said DeSantis, who has been vaccinated. “That is simply a huge, immense thing.”

The spike has travel arsenic DeSantis and section officials person fought implicit however to support children and unit arsenic the schoolhouse twelvemonth begins.

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Broward County's schoolhouse committee reversed a determination to necessitate facial coverings aft DeSantis barred mandates and threatened to chopped backing from districts that don’t comply. Broward’s committee had responded to the latest subject connected the microorganism and the latest recommendations of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But the politician said parents should determine whether their children should deterioration a disguise to school.

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Contributors see Freida Frisaro successful Fort Lauderdale. Gomez reported from Miami.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.


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