Unfortunately for Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the fight against coronavirus has exposed the fact that he may simply not be up to this moment in history.
“This particular pandemic is one where, I don’t think nationwide there’s been a single fatality under 25. For whatever reason it just doesn’t seem to threaten, you know, kids.
“And we lose in Florida between five and 10 kids a year for the flu. This one, for whatever reason, much more dangerous if you’re 65 and plus than the flu, no doubt about that, if you’re younger it just hasn’t had an impact. So that should factor into how we’re viewing this.
“I think the data on that has been 100% consistent. I’ve not seen any deviation on that.”
What’s worse is that DeSantis appears to not know that the reason that schools are closed during the coronavirus pandemic is not because the virus is killing kids in big numbers but rather that children are demonstrated carriers and vectors of the illness to adults. A kid might get coronavirus and have mild (or no) symptoms at all. But they could pass it to a teacher, a parent or another adult who gets much, much sicker. And that adult could then pass coronavirus to more people. And on and on we go.
I know these facts about the transmission of coronavirus not because I am a world famous epidemiologist (sorry Mom!), but because I have done some very basic reading on what scientists know about the disease and how it spreads. That the governor of Florida knows less than I do about the transmissibility of the disease is concerning.
And this isn’t the first time DeSantis has shown himself to be woefully underprepared during the course of this pandemic.
(DeSantis owes Trump — bigly — for his current political perch. Trump’s decision to endorse him in a contested GOP primary in 2018 turned the former House member into a heavy favorite. And Trump’s campaigning for DeSantis in the general election clearly helped pull him across the finish line.)
Moments like this one are clarifying. When a fearful and anxious public turns to its government for guidance and leadership, there’s nowhere for people like the governor of a state to hide from the massive responsibility. You either step up to meet the moments — Govs. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) and Andy Beshear (D-Kentucky) to name two — or you shrink in the face of them. DeSantis is a glaring example of the latter.
Source : Nbcnewyork