NIH director doesn't 'understand' DeSantis's optional mask order

National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins is questioning Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis‘s latest executive order blocking mask mandates at public schools as students prepare to return for the fall semester.

Collins said students should wear masks when they return to school this fall, as the COVID-19 delta variant has gained momentum in virus hot spots across the nation. The director doesn’t “understand” DeSantis’s order, he said during a Sunday interview on CNN, adding that “this seems like something local officials ought to be able to decide based on their community’s circumstance.”