The 13 Democratic members of Congress from Florida are demanding that Gov. Ron DeSantis implement a statewide order mandating people wear masks when they’re outside their homes.
“Floridians need strong, universal guidance from you during this time of uncertainty,” they said in a letter to the Republican governor. “We need to hear from you, clearly and unequivocally, that wearing a mask in public is a requirement.”
The push for masks — an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus and choke off the sharp increase in cases seen this month — is the latest disagreement over how to respond to the pandemic.
The Republican governor and President Donald Trump have generally favored fewer restrictions, and the Democratic elected officials have generally favored more expansive government action.
Masks exemplify the divide. Trump almost never wears a mask. DeSantis has said repeatedly he doesn’t plan to require them statewide, though he has allowed city and county leaders to mandate masks.
“You catch more flies with honey than vinegar,” DeSantis said Tuesday at a news conference in Orlando. “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.”
Democrats say masks are essential statewide.
“As positive cases surge and hospitalizations increase, it is imperative that you take data-driven action to help protect Floridians, our families, and our communities from the dangers of COVID-19,” the members of Congress said in a letter led by South Florida U.S. Reps. Donna Shalala and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and signed by all 13 congressional Democrats from Florida.
They cited the recommendation from the DeSantis-appointed state surgeon general, Scott Rivkees, that everyone in Florida “should wear face coverings” when social distancing isn’t possible.
“You must take the next step and make it a requirement,” they said in the letter sent to the governor Tuesday night.
Earlier Tuesday, the Palm Beach County Commission voted to require people in the county wear masks in public, a requirement already in place in Broward and Miami-Dade counties.
Many people haven’t been wearing masks, either voluntarily or where it’s required.
Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis was critical Tuesday of people who aren’t taking steps to curb the spread of coronavirus.
“There have been extremely large crowds with few people wearing masks,” he said. Trantalis said Fort Lauderale has started fining and ordering closures of businesses that “that create a public health hazard by their lack of compliance with COVID-19 regulations.”
DeSantis said Tuesday that the state would suspend licenses of businesses that violate guidelines.
In urging a mask requirement, the members of Congress said scientific evidence shows the practice helps slow the spread of the coronavirus.
And they repeated what public health experts have said: Wearing masks helps protect other people, not just the mask wearers.
They also argued that more widespread mask wearing could help people feel more secure in their everyday activities, and as a result contribute to safely reopen the economy.
Wasserman Schultz, Shalala and several of the others who signed the letter have been sharply critical of DeSantis and Trump generally, and in the way they’ve handled the pandemic.
Wasserman Schultz said in a separate statement that DeSantis too slow to acknowledge community spread of coronavirus early on, dragged feet on urging people to stay at home and rushed state into reopening.
“We’re sounding the alarm for the governor to end this parade of mistakes,” she said. “The governor must end his ‘nothing to see here’ approach and put public health over political pandering to his base.”
In their letter, the members of Congress acknowledged that the issue of masks has become intensely political. Some people, who’ve said they don’t want to wear masks, assert that it is a restriction on their freedom.
“The question of when and whether to wear a mask has taken on overt tones of political significance and must be irrelevant in the face of growing scientific evidence,” the Democrats said.
On Wednesday, 10 of the Florida Democrats wrote another sharply critical letter to DeSantis.
“You have chosen to make excuses for the warning signs of resurgent COVID-19 outbreaks rather than confront the reality that the new coronavirus is spreading in Florida communities and continues to put the health, financial security, and lives of our constituents at risk,” said the letter, from U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, and other Democrats.
They cited the rapidly escalating number of coronavirus cases in June. It took nine weeks for Florida to reach 50,000 cases. It took just four weeks to reach the second 50,000, a threshold hit on Monday.
“As cases have increased, you have attempted to make excuses for this grim trend rather than taking action to turn it around and save lives,” the Democrats wrote. “Rather than providing clarity and helping Floridians understand what we all must do to keep one another safe and repair our economy, our response has fallen into needless political battles. Unfortunately, even something as simple and effective as wearing a mask has now become politicized.”
Anthony Man can be reached at aman@sunsentinel.com or on Twitter @browardpolitics
