JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Debate is now swirling over whether Florida’s restaurants and bars should close once again in light of the number of Covid-19 cases in the state.
This comes after a report from the White House Coronavirus Task Force from a couple weeks ago was made public. The Jan. 17 report, obtained by the Daytona Beach News-Journal, recommends Florida re-close gym, bars and restaurants — essentially any business where there are times when customers aren’t wearing masks. The Biden administration followed that up with its own report that did not recommend a closure but still showed Florida in a similar “red zone” for infection rates.
Now, Gov. Ron DeSantis is responding, saying the state won’t close down those industries again. “The fact is, we’re in better shape because we made decisions that benefited the state. I think other areas have done things that have destroyed their societies, economies. Maybe they’ll come back, but I think it’s going to be a lot easier in Florida because we kept the state afloat,” he said.
The governor’s remarks come as the state wrestles with the effort to vaccinate as many seniors as possible. So far, roughly 1.5 million Floridians have received their first dose of the vaccine. As of Wednesday, the Florida Department of Health had recorded more than 1.6 million cases of Covid-19, resulting in 26,249 deaths.
DeSantis also questioned other states that have started loosening up lockdown restrictions since President Biden was inaugurated. “It’s a little frustrating because it seems once Jan. 20 came, there was a different view of opening up businesses. Before it was viewed as a horrible thing to let someone make a living. Now you have places that are saying oh no we need to get all this open. It’s odd it would happen on a dime like that,” he said.
While the governor hinted at political motivations for businesses re-opening in other states, Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry who supports DeSantis’ position on re-openings said government responses to the pandemic should be less politicized. “There can be policy disagreements between republicans and democrats can happen. But this non-stop us against them stuff has got to stop,” Curry said.
News4Jax also spoke with Floridians who have a mixture of opinions on the subject.
“I do know there’s a safety aspect and we do need to keep each other safe. If people would wear a mask, that would help,” Michelle Herring said.
“I was out of work for two months doing what I do, so I know the financial hardship it puts people in, so keep them open,” Jared Mason said.
We also received thousands of comments about this issue on our various social media platforms.
“All bars and restaurants should be (expletive) CLOSED in Florida. They can survive just fine with GOVERNMENT relief. We should be saving LIVES, not worrying about PROFIT,” one commenter said.
“No no no. We are fine. Keep the economy going !!” another commenter added.
News4Jax has also heard from some new residents to Florida who have moved here due to the pandemic. While covering stories over the past few months we have heard from transplants from multiple states including Indiana and Connecticut who have moved to the Sunshine state. They cited pandemic related closures as the primary reason they moved.
News4jax also reached out to a local doctor for perspective on this issue, but the doctor declined speaking publicly for fear that any medical advice would be politicized in such a divisive issue.