GOP Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis reminded governors across the country who continue to impose strict coronavirus lockdowns that they are “not a dictator.”
“I don’t think any governor has the authority to restrict anyone unless there’s a direct relationship to combating this virus,” DeSantis said this week during a Fox News appearance. “You’re not a dictator, you don’t have unlimited authority, and people do have rights.”
“If you look around the country, clearly, there have been examples of really draconian, arbitrary restrictions that have nothing to do with public health, like you can’t plant a seed in your front yard in your garden, you can’t walk around the neighborhood with your daughter or something like that.”
DeSantis was widely criticized for his decision to start reopening his state over the last couple of weeks. But he maintains that the spread of the coronavirus has been manageable despite that decision, pointing out that Florida has “some of the lowest rates, places like Brevard County, very low death rate.”
Coronavirus death rates in Florida are well below the national average despite the start of the reopening process.
People across the United States, most notably in California and Michigan, have taken to the streets to protest lockdowns imposed by their governors, arguing that businesses should be allowed to operate now that the infection curve has been flattened in most areas.
DeSantis recently announced that professional sports are welcome in his state as various leagues mull whether or not to resume activities.
“That may not be the case in every other state in this country, as we’ve seen. And so, what I would tell commissioners of leagues is if you have a team in an area where they just won’t let them operate, we’ll find a place for you here in the state of Florida because we think it’s important, and we know that it can be done safely,” he said.
