Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis mocked the mask recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during a speech in Utah.
“Did you not get the CDC’s memo?” he told the largely unmasked audience of about 450 people in Salt Lake City Wednesday during a 15-minute address to the American Legislative Exchange Council, reports The Salt Lake Tribune. “I don’t see you complying.”
The CDC announced new recommendations on Tuesday that vaccinated people return to wearing masks indoors in parts of the U.S. where the coronavirus is surging.
The South Florida Sun Sentinel noted DeSantis’ comments came as Florida reported 16,038 cases of COVID-19, the largest single day number since Jan. 15, according to the paper. Florida recently accounted for 20% of all the new cases in the U.S.
In his speech, DeSantis blamed the rising numbers on “a summer COVID season.”
According to the newspaper, the Republican governor also touted Florida’s rejection of mask mandates and school closures.
“It is very important that we say unequivocally no to lockdowns, no to school closures, no to restrictions and no to mandates,” he said.
Meanwhile, Local 10 television news reported that the School Board of Broward County in South Florida voted Wednesday to impose a mask mandate at all the district schools.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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