But Floridians who rely on Gov. Ron DeSantis and his administration might hardly know the pandemic is still a serious danger.
The Florida health department’s social media feeds have barely mentioned Covid-19 in months, breaking the silence only this week to celebrate the arrival of the first vaccines. DeSantis has consistently downplayed the severity of the pandemic, following President Donald Trump’s lead in denouncing mask mandates and restrictions on businesses. The governor has blocked local governments from enforcing their own measures to protect residents from coronavirus, and sidelined health experts even as he promoted questionable science, according to CNN interviews with more than a dozen Florida officials and experts.
Two Florida health department employees told CNN that the agency’s former communications director ordered them in late September not to focus on Covid-19 in their public messaging. They said they believed their jobs would be in jeopardy if they pushed back.
“We’re putting politics in front of lives,” said one of the health officials, who asked not to be named to avoid retaliation. “We are being handcuffed and kept from keeping the public properly informed so they can make informed decisions to protect their lives and the lives of others.”
Governors have emerged as the key figures in America’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, with decisions by individual leaders broadly shaping policy in their states. As cases climbed around the country, even some Republican governors who previously opposed mask mandates or social distancing rules have reversed course, with GOP leaders in Iowa, North Dakota, Alabama and elsewhere putting new restrictions in place as their states spiked.
“I gave up talking to the governor a while back,” said Hialeah Mayor Carlos Hernandez, a registered Republican, who said that his calls and letters to DeSantis pleading for more flexibility have gone unanswered for months. “It’s a large city here, but I feel sometimes we have been left alone.”
DeSantis’ office did not answer CNN’s questions about the state’s handling of the pandemic or make the governor available for an interview, and the health department did not respond to repeated requests for comment. In public statements, DeSantis has argued that the state’s response was focused on protecting the elderly and vulnerable while keeping businesses open.
More than 1.1 million Floridians have tested positive for Covid-19 so far, about…
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