Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at the American Legislative Exchange Council in Salt Lake City on Wednesday. Rick Bowmer/AP Photo Florida officials challenge DeSantis after infections spikeTALLAHASSEE Florida's Covid Wars are beginning again.Governor Florida is being ignored by local officials. As infections rise across the country and in Florida, Ron DeSantis is implementing his anti-mandate coronavirus strategy. They are imposing mask and vaccine requirements on government workers, and declaring emergencies. Disney World has made it clear that all Covid-19-infected guests must wear masks indoors, regardless of their vaccination status.Wednesday's announcement of new pandemic regulations came after Florida reported more than 16,000 cases. This is the highest single-day number since mid-January, when vaccine availability was limited. DeSantis also announced the local mandates, reiterating that the state would resist any pandemic-related regulations even though it is still one of America's worst hotspots.DeSantis stated Wednesday night in Salt Lake City that it was crucial to say unambiguously no to lockdowns or school closures. He was also the keynote speaker at the conference hosted by the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council.This fight mirrors the battle between DeSantis, local officials and Florida during last year's pandemic. But there is a deadly twist to the story: Americans continue to resist vaccinations despite the fact that the highly infectious Delta Covid variant continues to sweep through America.Last year, DeSantis made a national splash by declaring Florida open for business. He resisted lockdowns and mandates to remove masks. The GOP-led Legislature approved a ban on vaccine passports in the state. DeSantis used the legislative session to push for the measures that strengthened his hands off coronavirus approach. He also warned legislators that he would bring them back to Tallahassee to hold a special session to stop the Biden administration from instituting a nationwide mandate for students to wear masks.The current infected crisis could jeopardize DeSanti's achievements ahead of his 2022 election campaign and potential bid for the presidency in 2024. Already, DeSantis' biggest challengers, Rep. Charlie Crist (D-Fla.), and Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried have made use of Florida's recent surge to attack the governor. Crist attacked DeSantis for sending an email to raise funds that focused on the claims that he would hold Fauci responsible. Fried however stated that she will host regular briefings to inform the public about Covid and the vaccination rates in the state.Local government officials are trying to fill the gap as there is no state response to the recent spike in infection.Jerry Demings (Orange County mayor), husband of Democratic U.S. Senate candidate, Rep. Val Demings has declared a State of Emergency and requires that the county's 4,200 nonunion employees get vaccinated before September 31st. Leon County also announced that it has imposed a vaccination requirement for its county employees. Daniella Levine Cava, Miami-Dade Mayor, mandated that all county facilities have masks. DeSantis' vocal opposition aside, Broward County school board officials have maintained mandates for masks at all county facilities.Jerry Demings stated this week during a press conference that he wanted to demonstrate to Orange County residents and visitors that he is proactive. We are still focused on decreasing hospitalizations.This new set of Covid-19 regulations is coming months after legislators approved a DeSantis-championed bill that allows the governor or GOP-dominated legislature, to cancel local orders, even those related to the pandemic. If they determine the order unnecessarily restricts any constitutional right, fundamental liberty or statutory right, the order will be invalidated.Christina Pushaw (DeSantis spokesperson) downplayed the response of local governments. She said Orange County's mayor made a recommendation and asked for voluntary compliance. This is different from a mandate.While she acknowledged that private companies such as Disney can establish their own mask policies, she reiterated that a special legislative session could be held to ensure that all Florida school district are not required to use them.The most contentious issue is the one concerning schools. The Florida Department of Health reported that 6,999 children below 12 years old contracted Covid-19 last week. This was almost 10 percent of the total 73,199 cases in Florida.The positive rate for children under 12 years old, a group of people who can't get vaccinated, was 15.4 percent last week. This is higher than the average 15.1 percent for all ages. On Wednesday, a Jacksonville TV station reported that 13 children have been treated by the Baptist Health in the city for Covid-19. Five of them are currently in intensive care.Broward board member Sarah Leonardi stated that we are all elected to protect employees and students. I feel that even though the governor may not want to act in the best interests of his constituents it does not excuse us from our responsibility.DeSantis insists that schools shouldn't require students to wear masks. He stated at a conference last week that they were not doing so in Florida. Okay? Our children need to breathe.The Republican Governors Association has donated $3 million to DeSantis' political committee in preparation for his 2022 reelection. This is a clear sign of how nationalized this fight has become. It hit Fried and Crist Wednesday over what they call message inconsistency regarding Covid-19 regulations.Joanna Rodriguez, communications director of the group, stated that it will be a long year as Charlie Crist and Nikki Fried make pretzels out of themselves. They balance their far-left base with what is best for Florida.
