Let's see the latest news out of Florida on mandatory masks in schools... quite the turn-around happening after many local school districts revolted against the DeSantis EO. Masks could be required for students after all, but the state would pay for students to leave https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/e...0210805-4dooz6fa7zbnzioifcfsajx2wa-story.html Florida’s school districts may be able once again to require that students wear masks, and parents might get vouchers to send their children to private schools if they disagree. The proposal to the state Board of Education came to light Thursday, raising more uncertainty about whether masks will be required and incensing public education advocates who say it’s one more effort to privatize education. At the same time, the possibility is at least a partial win for those fighting to keep a mask mandate intact, including the Broward school district. The proposal, to be discussed at an emergency meeting Friday, has created confusion because it allows vouchers for parents unhappy about mask rules that Gov. Ron DeSantis has taken steps to outlaw. The governor blocked mask mandates in an order Friday and said school districts could lose funding if they failed to comply. So why is the state Board of Education considering whether to help people avoid the mandates? A spokeswoman for the Department of Education declined Thursday to clarify, and a spokeswoman for DeSantis couldn’t be reached. The voucher would be an expansion of the Hope Scholarship, created in 2017 to allow kids who are bullied to use state money to attend a private school or a public school in another district. The proposal essentially puts masks on the same plane as bullying. Allowing vouchers for parents who object to mask mandates is seen by many as an acknowledgment that school districts can, in fact, impose the rules. “The governor knows that he can’t tell school districts that they can’t protect children in their schools,” said state Sen. Shevrin Jones, D-West Park. “It would never hold up in court. So they’re going the back way.” Broward School Board member Debbi Hixon said she believes that DeSantis did not have authority to ban masks because he declared in early May that Florida was no longer under a state of emergency, a status that gave him increased authority to issue a number of other orders related to COVID-19. While the proposed state rule doesn’t specifically say mask mandates would be allowed, it says parents can qualify for vouchers if they believe “a school district’s COVID-19 health protocols, including masking, pose a health or educational danger to their child.” DeSantis’ executive order makes health claims about masks that most medical professionals don’t support, including statements that masks could “inhibit breathing, lead to the collection of dangerous impurities including bacteria, parasites, fungi, and other contaminants.” The proposal doesn’t say whether it applies to either those who oppose mask mandates or those who want to leave districts without mandates. “I think it would definitely hurt public education if a bunch of people decided to leave in either direction,” said Erica Whitfield, a school board member in Palm Beach County, which doesn’t currently require masks. The proposed rule could mean that Broward doesn’t have to make any changes to its mask mandate, which triggered DeSantis’ action. The School Board voted July 28 to extend a requirement that all students, staff and visitors wear masks in the new school year. The district said Monday that it would comply but did an about-face Wednesday and said the mask mandate was still in effect and would be reviewed at a meeting Tuesday. Parents have flooded School Board members with emails, overwhelmingly in support of mask mandates. (More at above url)
'Don’t come here’: Florida residents are warning fellow Americans to stay away from DeSantis's disease-ridden state https://www.rawstory.com/florida-unsafe-ron-desantis/ Florida is growing more and more dangerous as the COVID-19 threat spreads across every county with huge increases in cases and hospitalizations. Gov. Ron DeSantis has appeared defensive about questions regarding the increases and has maintained he won't put in any new restrictions to slow the spread of the disease. When President Joe Biden told DeSantis to "get out of the way" so that the U.S. can save the citizens of the state, the governor claimed that Biden was attacking the state, when it was actually an attack on him. Now he's fundraising off of the comments, claiming that he desperately needs campaign dollars while unvaccinated voters continue to die. Some Florida Twitter users have also started calling the governor "Ron DeathSantis" as a response to his indifference to the suffering that an increasing number of children in the state now faces. In a press conference Wednesday, DeSantis blamed undocumented immigrants coming over the southern border for bringing the virus to his state. Florida doesn't share a border with Mexico and their southern, eastern and western borders are all ocean. So, these migrants would have to cross the border on foot illegally over the border in Texas and then make their way, while sick with COVID, all the way to Florida to spread the virus. When people present themselves at the border and attempt to come in at the checkpoints they're given COVID tests. Those with the virus are detained. Those living in the state took to Twitter Thursday to attack DeSantis, attack Republicans and mock their anti-science agenda. But some took it a step further, warning that Florida is officially too dangerous for people to visit. See the comments below: (More at above url)
Yep. LOL Biden responds to criticism from Gov. Ron DeSantis: 'Governor who?' https://www.businessinsider.com/wat...m-from-gov-desantis-governor-who-video-2021-8
The number of school children in Florida is estimated at 2.7M. That number is low, as there are children not registered in public schools - but lets use it anyway. 46 + 22 (assuming the max of all "suspected" cases are actually COVID) = 68 total children. 68/2,700,000 = what, GWB? Can you help me with the math? Because my fucking desk calculator ran out of slots for all the zeros. Never mind, used my computer. It's 0.0000002519% Take your hysteria and shove it up your fat ass, please.
So Florida's still number 1 for the hospitalization of children with COVID. Florida still accounts for over 20% of the COVID cases in the country. What a fine job DeSantis is doing.
Of course they are. The sunbelt gets hit in the summer. As I said months ago. And come winter, we'll all be laughing at your posts like we did last winter based on last summer's claims. You're a regular gag reel.
So let's walk through a reality check. Over 97% of cases are unvaccinated. Over 99% of people in the hospital for COVID are unvaccinated. Approximately 50% of the people in Florida are fully vaccinated (loosely). We would expect the number of cases this summer to be 50% of last summer --- since it is the unvaccinated people showing up in a huge majority of cases and hospitalizations. Explain to us why the number of cases and hospitalization in Florida are not HALF of the numbers last summer -- as one would expect. I can understand the death rate being lower since the majority of the unvaccinated hospitalized this summer are younger & healthier. Plus the 50% vaccinated in the Florida reduces the overall number of deaths. I can agree with the assertion that summer months in Florida are the "indoor season" where there will be higher COVID spread - hence summer should expect a peak in Florida. However it is not possible to reconcile why the numbers this year are not half of what they were last summer. And since they are not half why your governor is not taking action to stop the spread, publish the daily data, and address this as a significant public health problem.
Let's see how DeSantis' attempt to chase off the cruise industry from Florida goes in court today... Norwegian Cruise Line urges judge to block Florida vaccine passport ban https://www.reuters.com/business/au...lock-florida-vaccine-passport-ban-2021-08-06/ Aug 6 (Reuters) - Norwegian Cruise Line heads to federal court on Friday in a battle that pits the company's plan for returning to the seas against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis's vow to oppose COVID-19 "vaccine passports." The court battle comes as big business and some government entities are responding to the rapid spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus with vaccination requirements, prompting legal challenges from vaccine skeptics and civil libertarians. read more Norwegian plans to make its first post-pandemic departure from Miami, the main port for Caribbean cruises, on Aug. 15. As part of its plan to guard against a COVID-19 outbreak, it will require passengers to prove they have been vaccinated. Banning anyone who refuses to prove their vaccine status will run afoul of Florida's law, which forbids businesses, government entities and schools from requiring proof of COVID-19 immunity in return for a service. The law has certain exceptions, such as for healthcare. The ban on "vaccine passports" took effect on July 1 and Norwegian faces a fine of up to $5,000 for each violation. The law essentially codified an executive order signed in April by DeSantis, who is staunchly against COVID-19 restrictions, even as the Republican governor's state has become a hotbed of infections and hospitalizations have hit record levels. Norwegian has said in court papers that enforcing the law would be "devastating" to its passengers, employees and suppliers by forcing the cancellation of the cruise, and condemned the law as doing nothing for passenger safety. "What this ban really does is score political points," it said in court papers. Norwegian is ramping up its return to cruises, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shut down in March 2020 with its "No Sail" order. On Saturday, Norwegian will make its first post-pandemic sailing from a U.S. port with an Alaska cruise from Seattle. In order to sail, Norwegian has attested to the CDC it would confirm that at least 95% of passengers have been vaccinated. The company has urged U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams in Miami to block the Florida law, saying it is pre-empted by the CDC's authority. Norwegian said in court papers that the Florida law violates the company's First Amendment rights by restricting the flow of information with customers and interferes with interstate commerce. The state has responded that Norwegian is free to ask for proof of vaccination and its customers are free to provide it, but the cruise line cannot deny entry to the ship for anyone who declines to provide documentation. It argued that Norwegian could have opted, as rival cruise operators did, to seek CDC approval through a process of running simulated voyages and applying other COVID-19 protocols such as masking indoors. Norwegian's arguments face an added wrinkle. The CDC cruise restrictions were temporarily blocked in Florida late last month after the state sued. Norwegian argued the preliminary injunction against the CDC requirements is not final and the cruise line still must comply outside Florida. DeSantis has been dismissive of the plight of Norwegian, which he called "one of the smaller" cruise lines and has said the company's "niche" could be filled by other operators if it left Florida. Royal Caribbean said on Wednesday it will be requiring passengers to be fully vaccinated, although the policy will not apply to cruises departing from Florida.
Abbott attempts to out-MAGA DeSantis -- and raise the Texas death toll so they can be number 1. Florida: No masks in schools. Texas: hold our canned air, no masks in schools AND no contact tracing AND no notification of parents of infections AND if a kid has infectious contact send them to school anyway