Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced Tuesday that the state will not reimpose radical closings amid growing coronavirus infections, saying that returning to the blockades would paralyze the economy without saving lives.
DeSantis drew the line even when Texas Governor Greg Abbott last week ordered all bars to be closed, and Arizona Governor Doug Ducey told residents to stay home and declared that the state was “on hiatus.” . Last week, after the state recorded 25,000 new Infections in just five days and 9,000 in a single day, Florida again banned local alcohol consumption in bars; There are no occupancy restrictions in gyms or shops.
“We are not going back, closing things,” DeSantis told reporters. “I don’t think that is what is really driving it, the people who go to a business are not what is driving it. I think that when you see younger people, I think that many of them are more just social interactions, so that’s natural. ” Obviously, he had a lot of different activities in different parts of the state … So that’s the reality. “
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Protests across the country and in Florida have seen a dramatic decline in social distancing in recent weeks. While the data shows that infections in Florida outperform new tests, the numbers also indicate that many of the newly infected are young and not seriously ill.
DeSantis added that Doomsday predictions about Florida’s coronavirus numbers were out of base, and urged young residents to “protect the vulnerable” by distancing themselves socially and away from the elderly, stopping by other governors, who They have suggested that residents should generally stay home.
“We are open, we know who we should protect, most people in those younger demographics, although we want them to be aware of what is happening, they are simply much less at risk than people in those older age groups.” DeSantis added.
Bathers bask in the sun as beaches are reopened with restrictions to limit the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Miami Beach, Florida, USA, June 10, 2020. REUTERS / Marco Bello – RC2J6H9PQG3A
Earlier this month, DeSantis took a different stance, telling voters that the worst was over.
“In our phase two, we will go with bars that can function consistently with this orientation, reducing the occupation of the standing room, so they basically sit outdoors with a certain social distance, a certain amount indoors, but you are sitting for service. I mean … go enjoy. Have a drink Okay, “said DeSantis.” We want to not have large crowds crowding. “
At the same time, DeSantis has issued a stern warning to companies that challenge the state’s social distancing guidelines, threatening to revoke business licenses for bars and restaurants.
“If you go in and it’s just chaos, like ‘Dance Party USA’ and it’s packed to the brim, that’s simple and it’s not just an innocent mistake,” DeSantis said.
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However, as Florida’s reported cases rose to record levels in the past two weeks, the DeSantis administration ordered the bars to be closed again. Officials in New York and New Jersey have also debated slowing their reopens as a result.
That move sent Kylie Davis, a 23-year-old bartender from Tampa, Florida, back to unemployment. She had returned to work on May 23 after two months without a job, struggling to collect unemployment benefits from Florida’s backward system. The tips, he said, were good.
People attend a nationwide riot protest following the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis, Miami, Florida, USA, on May 31, 2020. REUTERS / Marco Bello – RC220H90OZ67
“People were so understanding,” he said, “that we had been out of a job for a while and were extremely generous.”
However, after a few weeks, Davis was coughing and exhausted and had lost her sense of taste and smell. On June 12, she tested positive for the virus and was unable to return to work when Florida bars reopened.
The jarring reversal underscores what many economists have been emphasizing for months: that the economy and the job market cannot regain their health until business closings have lasted long enough to reduce infections and most Americans feel sorry. Safe enough to return to restaurants, bars, hotels, shopping malls and airports.
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“It is the virus, not the blockages, that dictate the course of the economy,” said Yongseok Shin, an economist at the University of Washington and a researcher at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. “We cannot have a full economic recovery without halting the epidemic.”
Associated Press contributed to this report.
