Few governors have been more criticized for their response to the coronavirus pandemic than Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. DeSantis, a Republican, seems to be getting hit from all sides, from those who think his response was inadequate to those who think it has infringed on freedom.
“I think any politician opens themselves up to criticism from all sides, as they are elected to serve the people and uphold the constitutional rights of the people,” said Tara Hill, a leader of the group Reopen Florida. “When civil servants fail to do so, as the governor is by allowing counties and city municipalities to continue imposing and enforcing unlawful mandates based on dangerous and changing recommendations, criticism is warranted.”
Mandating the use of face masks has been a big point of contention in Florida. DeSantis has refused to issue a statewide mandate, drawing criticism from both the Orlando Sentinel and Sun-Sentinel editorial pages. He has allowed local governments to impose mandates, and many counties have done so, including the three largest: Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach.
“The criticisms of Governor DeSantis not issuing a statewide mask mandate is ridiculous political theatre,” Cody McCloud, DeSantis’s press secretary, stated. “Anyone familiar with Florida understands that the state is large and diverse. Some counties have experienced significant cases of COVID-19 and others relatively few, which is why Governor DeSantis has empowered local officials to determine the best course of action for their communities.”
McCloud also touted DeSantis’s “early decision to prohibit visitation in nursing homes and assisted living facilities.” That decision drew praise from the Orlando Sentinel editorial page, which said it “saved lives.”
COVID-19 began surging in Florida in early June, about a month after DeSantis began the first phase of reopening the state’s economy.
Jill Roberts, an epidemiology professor at the College of Public Health at the University of South Florida, believes the governor reopened too soon.
“We didn’t meet the guidelines for reopening our economy, and our case numbers were too high,” she said.
“I don’t believe he opened the economy quickly enough,” replied Hill. “Countless small businesses have closed, and the people of Florida are suffering economically and otherwise.”
On June 5, DeSantis took arguably the riskiest step in reopening when he allowed bars to operate at 50% capacity. As new COVID-19 cases neared 9,000 on a daily basis in late June, DeSantis ordered bars to close.
New cases peaked at 15,300 on July 12, and hospitalizations peaked just over a week later at 9,520. Since then, new cases have dropped to just over 4,000 and hospitalizations to about 5,200.
Mary Jo Trepka, a professor and chairwoman of the Department of Epidemiology at Florida International University, acknowledged that COVID-19 numbers have improved but stated they are still too high.
“However, particularly for Miami-Dade County, we are nowhere near down to the levels where we were at the time we began reopening measures back at the end of May,” she warned. “The number of cases is more than fivefold higher, the number of people hospitalized with COVID in ICUs almost triple, the number of people with COVID-19 who are ventilated is quadruple than what is was when we reopened. … Thus, in my assessment, it is premature to begin reopening measures right now in Miami-Dade County. We don’t want to repeat what happened to us this summer.”
Earlier in August, DeSantis suggested he was willing to consider reopening bars, but on Wednesday, he said he was in no hurry to do so.
Some take issue with what they see as DeSantis’s inconsistent messaging.
“It is unfortunate that we did not have a consistent message across all levels of government guided by experts in the field,” said Roberts. “The inconsistent messaging likely caused significant confusion.”
He has also been criticized for too often downplaying the surge.
For example, in early July, DeSantis stated, “There’s no need to be fearful.” When daily cases dipped below 10,000 later that month, DeSantis claimed, “We’re turning this thing back in a good direction.” That latter remark led State Agricultural Commissioner Nikki Fried to respond, “When the governor has said that we’re getting through this and not to worry … it makes people put their security blankets down and think it’s safe to go out and do all these things and not take it seriously.”
Fried, a Democrat, is often cited as a potential challenger to DeSantis in 2022.
At present, DeSantis’s response to the pandemic appears to have made his reelection prospects more challenging. In late July, a Mason-Dixon poll found that 45% of Floridians approved of the governor’s job performance, with 49% disapproving. That is a stark reversal from March, when the same poll found that 62% approved and only 24% disapproved.
