Dr. Fauci basically just said this one state is doomed https://bgr.com/2020/10/01/florida-coronavirus-cases-dr-fauci-interview/ Florida coronavirus cases are on the rise again and are expected to spike even further in the coming days, now that the state has removed restrictions on the operation of bars and restaurants. People were seen packed into bars and restaurants across Florida in recent days, many without masks and not social-distancing, following an order from Gov. Ron DeSantis fully reopening those facilities. White House health advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci weighed in, and said this kind of thing has him particularly worried about Florida right now. You’d be forgiven for thinking the state of Florida has turned a corner or sufficiently beaten back the COVID-19 pandemic to an acceptable level, based on the order that the state’s Gov. Ron DeSantis announced at the end of last week which removed the last restrictions on the operation of bars and restaurants. Essentially, the order reopens both of them completely, while DeSantis’ order also prohibits local governments in the state from enforcing mask mandates, fining people for not social-distancing, and bars local governments from forcing businesses to close or to operate at less than half-capacity if those local leaders don’t provide an adequate justification for those moves. Hoo-ray, the pandemic is solved in Florida, right? Hardly. No surprise, Florida coronavirus cases have been on the rise again in the days since DeSantis issued his order. In fact, the state’s actions along these lines are so concerning that White House health advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci addressed them during a new interview to explain why he’s particularly worried about Florida right now. “That is very concerning to me,” said Fauci, who’s also the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, during an appearance on ABC’s Good Morning America. “When you’re dealing with community spread, and you have the kind of congregate setting where people get together, particularly without masks, you’re really asking for trouble. Now’s the time actually to double down a bit, and I don’t mean close … we’re not talking about shutting anything down. We’re talking about commonsense-type public health measures.” No surprise, local media noted that bars were packed in South Florida over the weekend in the wake of DeSantis’ order. It was noted that many people could be seen without masks or keeping themselves socially distanced from other people. A Tampa Bay Times reporter wrote that the scenes actually resembled the way things looked in the state pre-coronavirus. Further adding to the sense that Florida is getting as aggressive as it can in returning as much as possible to a sense of normalcy, strip clubs in Broward County as well as in Miami-Dade have reopened (albeit with coronavirus-era restrictions). The Harvard Global Health Institute’s map of COVID risk levels state-by-state shows that Florida is currently recording 11.1 daily new coronavirus cases per 100,000 people for its 7-day moving average. That is an acceptable level, albeit prior to DeSantis’ new order. It remains to be seen the degree to which that will change in the coming days.
President Trump’s positive coronavirus test throws off his Florida strategy https://www.orlandosentinel.com/pol...0201002-wykxwel4t5gm7clxfqvtv7j7s4-story.html The news that President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for coronavirus has upended the presidential campaign in Florida, where Trump had been scheduled to appear at a rally in Sanford on Friday night and a debate in Miami on Oct. 15. Instead, the president is self-isolating and working from the White House. And plans for a continued campaign blitz of Florida by Trump, which has included his family members and even some Cabinet members, are on hold. So is the president’s busy schedule of rallies around the country, which was to include two airport rallies in Wisconsin this weekend. “It’s going to be severely curtailed, at least for the next 10 days to two weeks,” said Aubrey Jewett, a professor of political science at the University of Central Florida. “That is a big problem for the Trump campaign, because historically where they have gotten their energy, and where they have mobilized their base, is through these big in-person events.'' This stark reminder of the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 208,000 people in the U.S., might ultimately impact voters' decisions, Jewett said. “There are a lot of Democrats and just a lot of swing independents who were very critical about the president’s response,” Jewett said. “And they would look at this as just sort of a natural result of the policies that have been put in place, or not put in place, by the president.” The Sanford event had been set for 7 p.m. Friday at the Orlando Sanford International Airport. The Trump campaign announced Friday that all scheduled events featuring the president would be “moved to virtual events or are being temporarily postponed.” Trump had been criticized for holding large rallies amid the pandemic, especially with so little social distancing or mask-wearing. An early attempt to restart rallies in Tulsa in June had low attendance but still contributed to an outbreak in the area, Oklahoma health officials said. But the president started them up again in September, beginning in Nevada. And he has maintained a regular schedule of rallies since, including one in Jacksonville on Sept. 24. “It was already somewhat curtailed compared to four years ago, because of COVID,” Jewett said. “The crowds haven’t been as big and they haven’t been able to do as many. But there was some thought that momentum was building and they were going to begin to even do more and more events and expected larger and larger crowds. And that is just not going to able to happen.” But the Trump campaign wasn’t just relying on the president as it prepared to flood the zone in Florida. Ivanka Trump, who serves as a White House adviser, was in Orlando on Wednesday to thank volunteers at an Asian Pacific Americans for Trump office and speak at the Citrus Club. She and her husband, Jared Kushner, tested negative for the virus on Friday, the White House said. Her brother, Donald Trump Jr., had also been scheduled to kick off a bus tour of the state in Kissimmee on Saturday, with a final stop in South Florida. The campaign announced Friday that all announced events featuring the Trump family were being temporarily postponed. A speech by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is still on for Saturday night at the Rosen Plaza Hotel in Orlando. Pompeo, who the State Department said tested negative Friday, is set to address the Florida Family Policy Council, a socially conservative advocacy group. The Biden campaign cited health concerns about the pandemic as the reason they were holding fewer public events. In September, vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris visited Miami, and Biden spoke at a Hispanic Heritage Month event in Kissimmee, both closed to the public and socially distanced. Biden had also planned to hold a town hall event in South Florida on Monday, though it was not clear Friday if that event was still on. Biden was tested for coronavirus Friday because of his appearance with Trump on the debate stage in Cleveland on Tuesday night at which members of Trump’s family did not wear masks as per Cleveland Clinic protocols. Biden later announced he had tested negative, as had his wife, Jill. But Jewett said there was a good chance that the next presidential debate, set for Miami 13 days after the Friday announcement of Trump’s positive test, could be canceled or rescheduled. If there’s any talk of postponing it, he said, “Biden’s team might not move to reschedule it. There was already a lot of pressure on the Biden campaign to just not to do any more debates because the first one just didn’t meet any expectations for what a debate should be. A lot of people in that camp thought there’s no point to it.” There is a third debate in Nashville set for Oct. 22, but Trump had already warned he would not go along with any rule changes being made by the Commission on Presidential Debates after his much-criticized performance on Tuesday, in which he repeatedly interrupted Biden and ignored moderator Chris Wallace’s calls to allow Biden to speak. In Florida, Republican and Democratic officials gave their well wishes to the Trumps on a speedy recovery, including some legislators who had battled the virus themselves. “As someone who knows firsthand what it is like, my prayers are with the President and the First Lady,” said state Rep. Chris Latvala in a tweet. Latvala, R-Clearwater, tested positive for the virus in August and has been hospitalized twice. State Rep. Randy Fine, R-Palm Bay, who has also suffered from COVID-19, wrote on Facebook, “I hope that this serves as a time of education, reflection, and empathy among all Americans. Perhaps this will help us unite in ways that have been so elusive for so long.” Fine told Florida Today that Trump should “be patient and don’t assume that how you feel on day one is how you will feel on day 12,” adding that he wasn’t hospitalized until 12 days after his positive test result. State Senate Democratic Leader Audrey Gibson, D-Jacksonville, said she was sorry to hear of the Trumps' positive test but added a warning for Gov. Ron DeSantis. “Hopefully, Governor DeSantis will finally understand that this virus is not just a threat to the most vulnerable, and institute mandatory safety measures statewide, including masks, as we have repeatedly called for,” Gibson wrote. DeSantis announced the full phase 3 reopening of Florida last week, allowing restaurants and bars to reach 100% capacity, requiring local governments to justify any further restriction back to 50%, and waived all fines and penalties related to local mask ordinances. DeSantis attended Trump’s rally in Jacksonville on Sept. 24 but was not in close contact with him, spokesman Fred Piccolo said. Piccolo added that he hasn’t had close contact with the president “for weeks” and has not experienced any symptoms.
What inane nonsense will come out of DeSantis' mouth next? Even in "no-lockdown" Sweden they closed schools for three months. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Says Closing Schools In Spring A Mistake https://miami.cbslocal.com/2020/10/...tis-says-closing-schools-in-spring-a-mistake/ Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday that closing school campuses in the spring as the coronavirus pandemic took hold might have been one of the nation’s biggest “public health mistakes.” And, while appearing on the Drew Steele radio show, DeSantis equated people fighting the return of students to classrooms as the “flat earthers of our day.” Florida shut down school and college campuses in March, with students shifted to online learning. DeSantis and Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran have pushed heavily to reopen classrooms for the new school year. “In March we may not have had all the information, but in hindsight, knowing what we know now, the closure of schools was one of the biggest public health mistakes in modern American history,” DeSantis said. “And I think even Europe has said we shouldn’t have closed up.” In the interview with the conservative talk-show host, DeSantis said that as the virus surged in Florida in July, he fought against people who didn’t want to reopen schools because he expected the outbreak to abate and because children “are not vectors” for spreading the coronavirus. “So, now we’re at the point where the people who advocate school closures are really the flat earthers of our day,” DeSantis said. “They’re not doing it based on data. They’re not doing it based on evidence. They’re doing it based on either politics or emotion. And so, the harm of school closures, I think, is really considerable.” In August, the Florida Education Association argued in court that a July order by Corcoran to reopen schools would force teachers to “needlessly expose themselves to a deadly and contagious virus-based solely on a blanket and arbitrary decision that schools must reopen for in-person instruction or lose their funding.” More than one million students have returned to classrooms across the state, DeSantis said. Schools in Miami-Dade County begin staggered reopenings on Monday, with Broward County schools restarting in-person instruction on Oct. 9. “I’m a big supporter of homeschooling for those who want to do it. But you know, we’ve got a lot of blue-collar families and working mothers who have to go to work,” DeSantis said. “They just don’t have the luxury of being able to do that. Taking away face-to-face instruction means their kids fall behind tremendously.”
In Florida they get to vote when they get out of prison. They make educated guesses on who they should vote for.
Look at all this chaos and mayhem Ron DeSantis is responsible for: holy crap! Look what Ron is doing to the UK with his destructive policy!!! Looks like Ron is taking his eye off the ball in Spain, though. Wait a moment...Nine Ender, you were telling us about Canada's response to COVID as being the Cat's Meow, right? What happened? Did DeSantis get up there too? You're worse off than you were back in the height of the crisis back in April. Meanwhile, in Ron DeSantis land, where businesses have been open since June 1, and schools are fully back in service (though students can opt to virtual learn)
Photos Show Why Miami Public Schools Could Be the Next Ron DeSantis Coronavirus Debacle https://www.thedailybeast.com/miami...t-ron-desantis-coronavirus-debacle-in-florida
Yes, on the rise. If you look really close, with an electron microscope, you will see it is on the rise. Trust us.
Let's see what the paper in Miami thinks... Don’t be secretive like DeSantis. When COVID is found in Miami-Dade public schools, tell us right away https://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/editorials/article246206675.html Ready or not, Miami-Dade public schools are reopening on Monday. They are doing so under pressure from a crude and cruel threat from the state’s Republican leadership to either open by Oct. 5 or risk losing at least $85 million state funding. They are doing so despite scared parents and COVID-vulnerable kids. They are doing so even though the teachers union says schools still aren’t 100 percent prepared. Some teachers would rather retire than return to the classroom. As important as returning everyone to school buildings as safely as humanly possible, is the need for absolute transparency from the school district. The community must know where the coronavirus has been found— and it will be found — in schools and its other facilities, how people will be alerted and what remedial measure will be taken — including shutting down again if need be. As Florida leaders have shown again and again, the locals are on their own. The governor has taken his coronavirus marching orders from President Trump, who was in denial right up until his Friday-morning tweet acknowledging that the virus had caught up with him. STAGGERED REOPENING Schools in Miami-Dade will not open all at once, but rather on a staggered basis. On Monday, about 22,000 students in pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and first grade — in addition to those with disabilities — will return first. Two days later, 40,000 students will return to the classroom, including all elementary-school students and those in the sixth, ninth and 10th grades. On Friday, 130,000 students will return. When given the choice, their parents chose in-person learning over virtual classes for their kids. We have already lived through the devastating effects when DeSantis withheld where the coronavirus had been found from concerned families who had loved ones in nursing homes. That cannot, must not, happen here as Miami-Dade public schools confront their new, and uncertain, future. HISPANIC, BLACK KIDS VULNERABLE Too many youngsters in this district already have targets on their backs. As a chilling NPR story revealed in September, “The vast majority of children dying from COVID-19 are Hispanic, Black or Native American ,according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Researchers analyzed the number of COVID-19 cases and resulting deaths among people under 21 that were reported to the CDC between Feb. 12 and July 31 and found almost 400,000 cases and 121 deaths. According to NPR, “They also found a staggering racial disparity. Of the children who died, 78 percent were children of color: 45 percent were Hispanic, 29 percent were Black and 4 percent were non-Hispanic, American Indian or Alaska Native.” In a district in which, according to MDCPS’ own statistics, Hispanics make up 72 percent of the student population and Black students make up almost 20 percent, that is a cautionary tale if there ever was one. DeSantis has made clear through some misguided actions, including insisting that schools open on Oct. 5, that we are our own saviors. In Miami Dade County, where schools were forced to re-open against school leaders’ better judgment, those same leaders must be absolutely meticulous and transparent in all that they do, from the moment students, faculty and staff walk through the school door to when they cross back over at the end of the day.