Florida governor blasts hypocrisy of ‘lockdown politicians’

Though many visitors to Florida are likely drawn as much by the winter sun as DeSantis’ lax Covid policies, the governor said that “there are probably about a half dozen governors who had restrictions on their people and then were spotted at various points in Florida.” 

“Some of it’s been public, some of it‘s not been public, but you know people tell me these things,” he said, adding, “I’m happy though that Florida’s a place where people know they can come and they can live like normal people, they can make their own decisions.”

Florida recorded 85,000 cases of Covid-19 on Monday, the highest daily tally since the pandemic began. DeSantis’ refusal to implement masking and vaccine mandates has seen him consistently lambasted by Democrats, who blame the state’s high case numbers on these policies.  

However, cases of Covid-19 spiked across the US as winter set in, and just a week beforehand, New York – where masks or proof of vaccination are required to enter most public spaces – was recording more cases every day than Florida and more than three times as many deaths, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University. Nationwide, deaths and hospitalizations remain lower than during previous surges in cases, with the Omicron variant causing mild to moderate symptoms in most people it infects, according to multiple public health agencies.