Florida’s Covid crisis

Made much worse by DeSantis

Florida just reached 3 million COVID cases, a total surpassed by only 2 other states and 15 *countries* in the entire world.

Of the 17,000 Floridians currently hospitalized with the virus, 90% are unvaccinated. pic.twitter.com/tevjOyAzNO
— The Recount (@therecount) August 24, 2021

Quinnipiac poll:

Florida residents, 46% to 41%, say that Ron DeSantis is hurting, rather than helping, efforts to slow the spread of coronavirus in Florida.

They say, 61% to 33%, that the recent rise in COVID cases in the state was preventable.
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) August 25, 2021

FLORIDA
Do you think the spread of COVID-19 in the state is a serious problem at this time?

ALL
Yes 73%
No 25%

REP
Yes 47%
No 50%

DEM
Yes 98%
No 1%

IND
Yes 75%
No 24%

(Quinnipiac U. Poll, 8/17-21/21)
— PollingReport.com (@pollreport) August 24, 2021

With thousands of Florida students in isolation, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) accuses the media of bias towards masks:

“People in your profession love having kids in masks.” pic.twitter.com/XHc8s03Ch3
— The Recount (@therecount) August 25, 2021

A news conference by Florida doctors encouraging the public to get vaccinated was not a "walkout" as many on social media claimed, nor did the physicians refuse to treat patients. Here are the facts. https://t.co/2KeiVPVSDF
— AP Fact Check (@APFactCheck) August 24, 2021

FLORIDA
Do you approve or disapprove of the way Ron DeSantis is handling the response to the coronavirus?

Approve 46%
Disapprove 51%

(Quinnipiac U. Poll, RV, 8/17-21/21)
— PollingReport.com (@pollreport) August 25, 2021

FLORIDA
Do you approve or disapprove of the way Ron DeSantis is handling his job as governor?

Approve 47%
Disapprove 45%

(Quinnipiac U. Poll, RV, 8/17-21/21)
— PollingReport.com (@pollreport) August 25, 2021

Florida just isn't easy for Ds. Even at the depth of the coronavirus outbreak, @QuinnipiacPoll finds DeSantis approval, though negative on coronavirus itself, still slightly positive overall, 47-45. Ds have lost 3 straight gov races there by 1.2 points or less.
— Ronald Brownstein (@RonBrownstein) August 25, 2021

Florida is the only state where more people are dying of COVID now than ever before. What went wrong? – 8/25/21 #DeathSantis 1/ https://t.co/kMeUHqCMIv
— Jennifer Cohn ✍🏻 📢 (@jennycohn1) August 25, 2021

Wow.

"More than half of Florida’s students are now enrolled in public school districts with mask mandates despite threats of sanctions from Ron DeSantis"https://t.co/AAtdPDcGjk

A striking rebellion against DeSantis' deranged contempt for the public good. Lean into this Dems: https://t.co/ZHoPnihrxL
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) August 25, 2021

Surge in Covid cases after Sturgis rally

Boy just no way to know what could have possibly triggered this!https://t.co/MaBhHHpKjl
— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) August 24, 2021

BREAKING: South Dakota sees the country’s LARGEST two-week COVID surge with a 230%+ increase in cases in the wake of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.
— Paul Cogan (@PaulCogan) August 23, 2021

NEW: Two weeks after Sturgis, South Dakota leads the nation in the largest percentage increase of new COVID cases. Over the past 14 days, the state has experienced a 230% increase.

Despite the surge, Gov. Kristi Noem says she will not increase efforts to combat the virus.
— Travis Akers (@travisakers) August 22, 2021

Last year, Gov. Noem resisted calls to cancel the event. After it ended, some health-care analysts said it was a disaster and spread the coronavirus across the country. A German research institute suggested there may be 266,000 cases linked to the Rally https://t.co/e6w2Nz2Flg
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) August 10, 2021

Two weeks after the annual motorcycle rally in Sturgis, South Dakota, reported Covid infections in the state have risen nearly sixfold. https://t.co/c7Nq7UNGd2
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) August 25, 2021

Sturgis ended 9 days ago.

Today, 2 of the 3 fastest growing counties in the United States of America for COVID cases are Meade County (Sturgis) and Lawrence County (next door).

Via NYT tracker. https://t.co/fuUYJn1W7k pic.twitter.com/jDNDPSHXtp
— Steven Dennis (@StevenTDennis) August 24, 2021

Florida’s Covid disaster

At least some counties are fighting back against SeSantis.

Leon County is now requiring masks to protect students. This is now the seventh school district that is defying Desantis’ threats to defund schools that require masks.
— Thomas Kennedy (@tomaskenn) August 22, 2021

I haven’t said anything about what’s going on with #COVID here in FL bc I haven’t had the words to describe it. The truth is we’re caring for 3x the number of patients we had last summer. 12 of our floors have been converted to covid units. We are stretched to the breaking point. pic.twitter.com/MyZVmIuaUE
— Jennifer Caputo-Seidler, MD (@jennifermcaputo) August 21, 2021

COVID cases are so high in Orlando, Florida, that residents are being asked to cut back on water usage to save oxygen supplies for patients. https://t.co/lHTTTTsVqJ
— Yahoo News (@YahooNews) August 22, 2021

Twitter has locked the account of @GovRonDeSantis spokesperson Christina Pushaw. pic.twitter.com/5aHVid9HuX
— Evan Donovan (@EvanDonovan) August 21, 2021

from my @CNN colleague Melissa Alonso:

"at least five law enforcement officers in south Florida have died after contracting Covid-19 in the last 7 days"
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) August 21, 2021

Hospitals are rescheduling other services, deploying more staff and using auditoriums and cafeterias to address the rising Covid-19 cases, says Florida Hospital Association's Mary Mayhew.

"These hospitalizations … are preventable," she adds. "We need them to get vaccinated." pic.twitter.com/oy6Z5FKWAa
— New Day (@NewDay) August 20, 2021

I can’t even imagine.

😡😡😡 https://t.co/voo6LWhZWs
— Angry Staffer (@Angry_Staffer) August 19, 2021

.@MaddowBlog: Two Florida school districts agreed to defy Gov. DeSantis. State officials retaliated. Now four school districts are defying DeSantis. https://t.co/jXYAOzkUVF
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) August 19, 2021

'Ron DeSantis owns this': Outrage erupts over 'horrific' photo showing COVID-19 patient on floor of treatment center https://t.co/xxRWpdZpqI
— Daniel Uhlfelder (@DWUhlfelderLaw) August 19, 2021

Imagine looking at these numbers for Florida and deciding that your priority is to stop schools from requiring masks pic.twitter.com/4SefatZxTU
— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) August 19, 2021

More on terrible Republican anti-mask policies

Just today (!), Ducey in AZ/DeSantis in FL, Abbott in TX have all escalated their attacks on blue city mask or vaccine mandates. Latest: "TX AG Paxton asked the TX Supreme Court Tuesday to overrule a Travis County judge who allowed mask mandates to proceed in any school district" https://t.co/cdj6eQkNY7
— Ronald Brownstein (@RonBrownstein) August 17, 2021

Unreal. Florida is now threatening penalties against school districts over mask mandates, per DeSantis' threats.https://t.co/9zd3NNPUCv

It's time Biden and national Dems speak/act more directly on behalf of these folks. They can't be abandoned to face this derangement alone. https://t.co/AML5LB7LYF
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) August 18, 2021

Mayor Romero calls Gov. Ducey's move to give $163M grant to schools without mask mandates 'absolutely evil and grotesque' https://t.co/8Ev0pDdlYb
— KVOA News 4 Tucson (@KVOA) August 17, 2021

In Opinion

“There is good reason to believe that wearing a mask at school could actually improve certain social and cognitive skills,” writes Judith Danovitch, a psychologist who studies child development, in a guest essay.https://t.co/rJYEaHeo0f
— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 18, 2021

BREAKING: A Texas school board has found a loophole in Greg Abbott's ban on school mask mandates by instead adding masks to the district's dress code.
— No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) August 18, 2021

Arizona GOP Gov. Doug Ducey said the state would use federal Covid-19 relief money to increase the funding available to public school districts only if they're open for in-person learning and don't require children to wear masks https://t.co/dyuoRHf4rR
— CNN (@CNN) August 18, 2021

Florida's State Board of Education voted unanimously at an emergency meeting to recommend investigations into two school districts whose mask mandates defy Gov. Ron DeSantis. https://t.co/nCAh8X4im8
— CNN (@CNN) August 18, 2021

This is authoritarian. FL St Board of Ed “Emerg Meeting’ tonight to discipline Alachua Schools for requiring masks. Desantis attack dog Tom Grady grousing about how much national press this has gotten and saying to Alachua witness, “I wonder’s who’s paying for all that?” Audio pic.twitter.com/9MQtBomJjx
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) August 17, 2021

TN Gov Bill Lee joins Ron Desantis and Greg Abbott by signing an Executive Order yesterday prohibiting schools from requiring masks. pic.twitter.com/oJgfIad9Ox
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) August 17, 2021

Governor Bill Lee of Tennessee signed an executive order on Tuesday allowing parents to opt their children out of mask mandates at school. The state is one of several where a Republican governor opposes mask mandates that are supported by school officials. https://t.co/v6P14iiAr9
— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 16, 2021

A dad at Sutter Creek Elementary School in Amador, CA, irate over mask mandates, beat up a teacher and sent him to the hospital on the first day of school this week. pic.twitter.com/QSYIrcbSrX
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) August 15, 2021

An entirely Republican, deeply ideological TX Supreme Court waits at the finish line of these legal confrontations. Its ultimate decision will measure how committed the state GOP is to shred school mask mandates when the Dallas area, for instance, has no pediatric ICU beds left https://t.co/kU5cOoc9f7
— Ronald Brownstein (@RonBrownstein) August 14, 2021

“There’s a couple hundred people every night outside of my house screaming curse words at my children.”

— Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins on reaction to his emergency order requiring masks in all public schools, after securing restraining order against Gov. Abbott’s (R-TX) ban. pic.twitter.com/SHA2Dar5Q4
— The Recount (@therecount) August 13, 2021

Stunning: While @GregAbbott_TX is in court trying to block school mask mandates, Dallas-area "hospitals are reporting fewer and fewer empty beds — including no available ICU beds for children in the region." https://t.co/zz8KwL9XSk
— Ronald Brownstein (@RonBrownstein) August 13, 2021

Schools are open. Masks are off. GA vax rates are low. @GaDPH is absent. @GovKemp is politicking. https://t.co/HY3JPGhgFE
— Melanie Thompson (@drmt) August 12, 2021

Biden today warning of possible legal action from Ed Department against red state governors blocking mask mandates marks a significant adjustment of his position, if administration follows through. https://t.co/rJpmCSfMV7
— Ronald Brownstein (@RonBrownstein) August 18, 2021

And now Hillsborough County (Tampa) also votes to impose a 30-day mask mandate in schools-in direct defiance of DeSantis. More evidence school masks have truly become the "breaking point" in endemic blue city/red state conflict. https://t.co/oCnxj91adZ https://t.co/Y1JJhVDlC7
— Ronald Brownstein (@RonBrownstein) August 18, 2021

Republican anti-mask policies are resulting in school Covid outbreaks

More than 28,000 students and school staff in Florida into quarantine and isolation. And that is only with 6 out of 67 districts reporting.
— Don Winslow (@donwinslow) August 24, 2021

More than 20,000 students in Mississippi are in quarantine from Covid-19 exposure, according to state data. https://t.co/wJFHUCU9Ga
— NBC News (@NBCNews) August 18, 2021

Mississippi has already quarantined over 6% of all K-12 public school students either for COVID-19 exposures or positive tests.

That's despite the fact that not all schools have opened or begun reported numbers to MSDH yet.https://t.co/4IwJS5tYL7
— Ashton Pittman (@ashtonpittman) August 18, 2021

Just a week into the school year, over 8,000 students in Florida school district isolated or quarantined a week into school year. https://t.co/nI90QrnWkp
— ABC News (@ABC) August 18, 2021

More than 5,500 students at a school district in Central Florida are being forced to quarantine due to an outbreak of COVID, prompting the school board to announce that it's holding an emergency meeting to discuss "mandatory face coverings." https://t.co/WefQQ0KCOT
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) August 17, 2021

COVID outbreaks in three rural Texas communities force school districts to close their doors https://t.co/6961m7Lu1i
— Dallas Morning News (@dallasnews) August 17, 2021

Five days into the school year, and in my kids' school district, there are 176 student Covid cases and 121 staff cases. On Friday, there were 51 student and 74 staff cases. It started at zero on Aug. 10.
(It is self-reported so the real numbers are probably much higher.)
— Mónica Rhor 🇪🇨 (@monicarhor) August 17, 2021

Mississippi has five children dead from Covid-19. The governor couldn’t recall the exact number at a press conference where he announced that there would be no mask mandate for the state’s schools: https://t.co/INfr4GNCMJ pic.twitter.com/4qbmTK5Ajr
— Amrita Khalid (@askhalid) August 15, 2021

BREAKING: An 8th grade Mississippi girl died this morning hours after testing positive for COVID-19. She attended classes throughout the week at a school that began with no mask mandate.

Yesterday, Gov. Tate Reeves downplayed the danger to schoolchildren. https://t.co/Hd3o0U6Di0
— Ashton Pittman (@ashtonpittman) August 15, 2021

BREAKING: After one week, Pearl River Central High School has quarantined 40% of its entire student body.

When classes began, the school board made masks optional for a more "normal" school year.

Now, the entire school district is going virtual.https://t.co/zoVDEWxfNw
— Ashton Pittman (@ashtonpittman) August 12, 2021

This fall is going to go great: “Classes began at the Carriere, Miss., school on Aug. 5 with no mask mandates. Since then, the high school has quarantined 394 members of its roughly 1,000-member student body.” https://t.co/fgD9aQe63P
— Brendan Nyhan (@BrendanNyhan) August 13, 2021

Frustrated Palm Beach, FL Superintendent of Schools Michael Burke said today that Ron Desantis “has to take responsibility” for the 51 covid cases after just 2 days of school. 34 students and 14 staff tested positive, 440 are home on quarantine. pic.twitter.com/4dRBt7QKpf
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) August 12, 2021

#BREAKING…. THREE Broward County teachers and ONE assistant have died in a 24 period this week due to coronavirus. Just days before the new school year is set to begin. @wsvn
— Joe Roetz (@JoeRoetz) August 12, 2021

I’m extremely pissed at @GovRonDeSantis. At at 8:42pm tonight my 6 year olds principal called me and told me my child had been exposed to COVID-19. I immediately took her temperature, it was 100.8. I rush and got a test. It came back positive. My baby has COVID 19.
— Mike Harvey (@electMikeHarvey) August 20, 2021

BREAKING: For the 2nd straight day, Tennessee sets a stunning new daily record for #COVID19 cases among school-age children (ages 5-18).
1,850 in today's report, up from 1,495 the day before.
Previous high of 1,478 was on Dec. 15th.
It has NEVER been this bad. 1/ pic.twitter.com/A5mHfKAntK
— Phil Williams (@NC5PhilWilliams) August 19, 2021

More than 28,000 students and school staff in Florida into quarantine and isolation. And that is only with 6 out of 67 districts reporting.
— Don Winslow (@donwinslow) August 24, 2021

Arizona – Ducey’s bad actions against mask mandates

Like DeSantis & Abbott, Ducey is escalating his offensive against blue jurisdictions requiring masks or vaccines. The dominant GOP impulse remains to defend the unvaccinated-even as evidence grows that the vaccinated, across party lines, are ready for tougher steps against them. https://t.co/wjKw5rTMl0
— Ronald Brownstein (@RonBrownstein) August 17, 2021

This is the most absurdly dangerous and anti-science step @dougducey has taken (and that’s saying a lot, 2020).

Until kids under 12 have access to the vaccine, what are parents supposed to do? Just hope their kids don’t get sick and end up in the ICU? https://t.co/8f6IOqtwHX
— Kyrsten Sinema (@kyrstensinema) August 17, 2021

Gov. Ducey is now going to incentivize #AZ schools to ignore public health guidance and put our children’s health at risk. https://t.co/fo43Qy8u8v
— Kelli Butler (@KelliButlerAZ) August 17, 2021

Watching DeSantis, Abbott, & Ducey choose death over life; & centralized power over community decision making is painful & resulting in unnecessary, premature deaths.

It is one thing to NOT have a mask mandate. Wholly another to block municipalities from letting science lead. https://t.co/DSQmJ7hYoi
— (((Howard Forman))) (@thehowie) August 17, 2021

It’s like these governors are competing to see who can be more reckless and irresponsible.https://t.co/KCrDQMxoHL
— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) August 14, 2021

I oppose Anti-mask/Anti-vaccine protesters

People will die because of their ignorance. Get vaccinated and wear a mask!

Tina Forte, Republican candidate for Congress against AOC, speaks to the anti-vaccine, anti-mask protesters this afternoon outside the Mayor’s residence in NYC. pic.twitter.com/VQnKZx6eBg
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) August 15, 2021

Footage from the anti-vaccine rally at the OK State Capitol yesterday, organized by state Republican Party Chair John Bennett. pic.twitter.com/LioBP3rMrA
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) August 15, 2021

Have I mentioned mass psychosis https://t.co/ImrVLSnEbm
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) August 14, 2021

Something happened to me today that’s never happened in 30 yrs of reporting. In LA. ⁦@LAist⁩ I was shoved, kicked and my eyeglasses were ripped off of my face by a group of guys at a protest – outside City Hall during an anti-vax Recall ⁦@GavinNewsom⁩ Pro Trump rally. pic.twitter.com/6s2Jfm8Xrg
— Frank Stoltze (@StoltzeFrankly) August 15, 2021

A man was stabbed and a reporter was attacked at a protest against vaccine mandates on the south lawn of Los Angeles' City Hall after a fight broke out between the protesters and counter-protesters, the LA Police Department and local media said. https://t.co/4HLbhza6Pg
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 15, 2021

This is the America Trumpers want.

This is the America you will have if you let them win in 2022 and 2024. https://t.co/ra3BUDacDL
— Don Winslow (@donwinslow) August 14, 2021

New from me and @oneunderscore__:

A stable of anti-vaxx Instagram influencers are using the platform to organize and boost anti-mandate protests at California children’s hospitals along with a hodgepodge of anti-vaxx misinformation. https://t.co/Qm4nP9F61E
— Brandy Zadrozny (@BrandyZadrozny) August 11, 2021

Covid in Mississippi

NEWS: The federal government is rushing into Mississippi to help as COVID-19 threatens the state's entire medical system.

Without drastic change, "I think we’re going to see failure of the hospital system in Mississippi" in 5-10 days, says Dr. Alan Jones.https://t.co/FOXbuiiSKd
— Ashton Pittman (@ashtonpittman) August 11, 2021

Mississippi, this is where we are. Fifty beds will be installed here in a concrete garage. The federal government will send overflow medical professionals to staff it. One of the last stopgaps between Mississippi and hospital system failure. pic.twitter.com/6Nj7e87qZZ
— Nick Judin (@nickjudin) August 11, 2021

Mississippi braces for "failure" of hospital system due to covid-19 surge and lack of ICU beds https://t.co/oSAsQZDLdI
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) August 12, 2021

More than 4,400 students in Mississippi are quarantining after being exposed to Covid-19 in the first weeks of the school year, according to data from the state's department of health. https://t.co/WcviVfPqNI
— CNN (@CNN) August 12, 2021

"I can't do this anymore. I've seen more death than I thought I'd see in my entire life. I've held more hands of patients in their last moments, when their families couldn't be by their side," Mississippi ICU nurse Jen Sartin says. https://t.co/P7vqs8GxMq
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) August 12, 2021

Front page of the Sun Herald in Biloxi, Mississippi today: pic.twitter.com/zyboBG5YOD
— Rachel Maddow MSNBC (@maddow) August 11, 2021

Lollapalooza wasn’t a superspreader event

Most attendees were vaccinated. To be honest, I would not have held it. Let’s see what happens from Sturgis.

Read this thread from the Chicago Public Health Commissioner:

We are now 14 days past the first day of Lolla and we are continuing to investigate cases of COVID. There have been no unexpected findings at this point and NO evidence at this point of “super-spreader” event or substantial impact to Chicago’s COVID-19 epidemiology.
— Dr. Allison Arwady (@DrArwady) August 12, 2021

Chicago health officials said the city’s Lollapalooza concert shows no sign of being a superspreader event for Covid-19, even with 203 cases being reported https://t.co/X3ahMHNrWs
— Bloomberg (@business) August 12, 2021

Out of the 385,000 who attended Lollapalooza only 203 total COVID-19 cases were reported in people who attended, with no definitive conclusion the point of infection was there. The festival reported 90% of its attendees were vaccinated, the others had to present negative tests.
— Omar Jimenez (@OmarJimenez) August 12, 2021

More than 200 Lollapalooza attendees got COVID-19 — but it wasn't a super-spreader event, Chicago's top doc says https://t.co/5eR19RLJqP pic.twitter.com/aHzTkN0OFV
— Block Club Chicago (@BlockClubCHI) August 12, 2021

Texas Covid update

"Unvaccinated Texans make up vast majority of COVID-19 cases and deaths this year, new state data shows." 85% of both cases & deaths were among the completely unvax'd; partially vax'd accounted for most of rest. As Abbott fights vaccination requirements. https://t.co/uMCE8egdbt
— Ronald Brownstein (@RonBrownstein) November 15, 2021

If vax rates in Florida and Texas had been on-par with the nation's highest vaccinated states by the end of July, a new analysis estimates roughly 4,700 lives could have been saved and 70K hospitalizations avoided, reports @sonysalz: https://t.co/51OTJq7Y6K
— Anne Flaherty (@AnneKFlaherty) August 12, 2021

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is doing nothing to stop the spread of COVID in Texas, but he just announced that more than 2,500 medical personnel will be deployed to hospitals around the state to care for the growing number of COVID patients.
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) August 12, 2021

And now @GregAbbott_TX is going to spend Texas taxpayer’s money to sue Texans trying to stop him from killing Texans. https://t.co/QOfHxFOax1
— Mueller, She Wrote (@MuellerSheWrote) August 12, 2021

Across Texas, a virus called RSV is spreading like wildfire, with many children contracting it alongside Covid.

Experts say the virus was kept dormant last year through mask wearing. But today cases are exploding.@GregAbbott_TX must let schools mask up. https://t.co/ONuNPZkW0e
— Julián Castro (@JulianCastro) August 12, 2021

Unvaccinated people killed this patient. https://t.co/GpmeTZA8Se
— Jessica Shortall🧂🥴 (@jessicashortall) August 12, 2021

Across Texas, health officials warned of a growing crisis not seen in months, with more than 10,000 people hospitalized and intensive care units stretched thin.

"I am frightened by what is coming," a top official said. https://t.co/5czPC3590D
— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 12, 2021

And as more big city districts defy Abbott ban, GOP state AG @KenPaxtonTX says he'll ask Texas State Supreme Court to uphold it and block the local mask requirements. https://t.co/AymkPhUAMw
— Ronald Brownstein (@RonBrownstein) August 11, 2021