South Florida Democratic members of Congress blasted Gov. Ron DeSantis Tuesday morning for ignoring their calls to issue a mandatory mask requirement for the entire state, failing to temporarily close beaches and ordering school districts to restart in-person instruction.
“The bottom line is sickness and death are piling up at the feet of Ron DeSantis,” Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz said in a news conference.
DeSantis, a close Republican ally of President Donald Trump, has said repeatedly he doesn’t plan to require masks statewide, though he has allowed city and county leaders to mandate masks.
“You catch more flies with honey than vinegar,” DeSantis said at a news conference in June. “I’ve encouraged the locals to fashion those policies that fit their communities. … We’ve got a big, diverse state. The outbreak is not uniform.”
Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties issued mask mandates as coronavirus cases surged. Those counties also closed beaches over the Fourth of July weekend, while beaches elsewhere in the state remained open. Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties also require masks indoors.
As coronavirus cases spike, local leaders are considering returning to lockdown.
On Monday, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez ordered gyms and restaurant dining rooms to close again amid concerns that the mounting caseload could strain the health care system. He changed his mind on Tuesday to ease those restrictions, allowing gyms to stay open and letting restaurants to continue offering outdoor dining.
Starting Wednesday, restaurants in Miami-Dade will have to halt their indoor dining and go back to providing takeout and delivery and outdoor dining only. Gimenez’s order also closed ballrooms, banquet facilities, party venues and short-term rentals.
Wasserman Schultz urged Broward County leaders to consider rolling back their reopening.
Democrats said school districts should also have more flexibility in deciding how to teach students in the fall.
On Monday, the state issued an order that said schools must open for on-campus classes every day despite the coronavirus pandemic. Under the order, districts can offer remote learning, but those plans must be approved by the state.
While the order directs districts to reopen classrooms, health officials have the authority to close schools if they deem them to be unsafe.
Florida’s new order was issued the same day Trump tweeted, “SCHOOLS MUST OPEN IN THE FALL!!!“
U.S. Rep. Donna Shalala said the state’s rush to reopen is the reason why leaders are being forced to go back into a lockdown with a new surge of cases.
“The failure of leadership at the national and state level has put us in the position we are in now,” she said. “If we had starved the virus from the beginning and completely shut down … we would be in a different situation today, and we would have saved lives. “
Skyler Swisher can be reached at sswisher@sunsentinel.com, 561-243-6634 or @SkylerSwisher.
