TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – The Florida Agriculture Commissioner on Monday unveiled a public awareness crusade that urges Floridians to keep their distance and wear a mask to the threat of coronavirus infections. This is the latest tactic of tension aimed at resisting Republican Governor Ron DeSantis to order a mandatory mask requirement.
“Few other people do the little things to slow down COVID-19,” nikki Fried, Florida’s only Democratic civil servant, said at a news convention in Tallahassee. “To reopen our state and economy safely, we’ll all have to be in this together.”
The video series features prominent Floridians, as well as Alonzo Mourning of the Miami Heat, US Rep. Donna Shalala and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, a Republican. In a 16-second clip, Suarez is seen with his nose and mouth covered. He says he’s doing his “part by dressing up in a mask and keeping my distance,” and ends the ad with “be smart, Florida.”
Fried’s announcement came after DeSantis presented a series of videos aimed at improving his reputation in the face of complaints about pandemic management. Critics said DeSantis closed the state last spring because the virus was spreading and ordered a mandatory masking requirement across the state.
On Friday, the governor released a video selling “One Goal One Florida,” a public interest crusade that also urges Floridians to take precautions.
“This is the time to get carried away,” DeSantis says in front of the camera. “We all have a purpose as a state.”
Grief projects highlight how the pandemic has also entered the political sphere.
DeSantis has been widely criticized for his handling of the pandemic, and Democrats and others wonder each and every step he took, adding his resolve not to order a statewide mask court order and what Fried said were missteps.
“If we had closed earlier,” he says, “we’d be on this stage right now.”
Florida reported 73 more deaths from the new coronavirus on Monday, as the number of new cases increased by nearly 4,800 people, fitness officials said.
As of Monday, Florida had a total of 491884 of coronavirus and about 7,200 similar deaths.
However, control sites in parts of Florida closed for several days ago last week, with Tropical Storm Isaiah threatening the state’s Atlantic coast. In addition, the number of new instances on Mondays tends to be lower than other days of the week, as some labs are closed and no checks are performed on other services at the weekend. Many days last week, the number of new cases reported was about double Monday’s count.
Jared Moskowitz, director of Florida’s Emergency Management Division, said his firm had delivered about 10,000 pandemic kits to shelters before Isaiah.
State officials may not say seamlessly how many Floridians had sought safe haven at county-run facilities, but said a handful of other people who had tested positive for coronavirus or had maximum temperatures had been redirected to hotels in the domain to keep them separate from the infected une.
The state has nearly 200,000 kits containing mask and hand sanitizer in reserve for any prolonged storm, Moskowitz said.
“This is our advice for counties that mask the property for shelters,” he said. “Everyone’s going to have a mask. Everyone will have a hand sanitizer. Everyone will get gloves.”
The reported deaths do not necessarily reflect the exact day the user died, and Florida had up to 257 new deaths by the end of last week.
The average seven-day daily deaths reported in Florida was 176, just one point for Texas in the total number for the summer pandemic resurgence in the Sunshine Belt states. It was fourth Arizona, Mississippi and Texas consistent with captain. Florida’s figures compare to the daily average reported deaths of more than 760 consistent with the day in New York City in mid-April.
The number of patients in Florida hospitals by COVID-19 remained stable, just under 8,000 and below previous peaks of 9,500 about two weeks ago.
“We’ve overcome some of the trends we’re seeing,” DeSantis said Monday at a news convention in Fort Lauderdale.
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