SARASOTA – On Tuesday Gov. Ron DeSantis rejected the idea of a second coronavirus wave impacting the Sunshine State. More than 14,000 residents tested positive in the past week, a spike the governor attributes to the increase in number of tests conducted daily in high risk environments.
“With increase testing, it’s really moved towards more a surveillance style,” says DeSantis “Most of the infectious are either Asymptomatic to mildly symptomatic that’s something very, very significant.”
DeSantis’ announcement has some Floridians worried about the lack of transparency from federal and state health officials to the public.
With the state reporting their second-highest daily increase in the past week, DeSantis says counties that have at least a 10% positivity rate are due to migrants and farm workers as well as inmates.
“If you look at this demographic, they’re like six times more likely to test positive,” says DeSantis. “I think that, that’s traced back to those type of living conditions.”
Frank Alcock, Associate Professor of Political Science at New College of Florida, says the criteria set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the country’s top health officials are not being met in Florida.
“There’s tension there with respect to a narrative, which is okay but we’re moving ahead anyway or no we’re close to those guidelines or criteria,” said Alcock.
And the obscurities doesn’t end there, Vice President Mike Pence downplayed new outbreaks across the U.S., stressing, on private calls with governors, that some states were seeing what he called “intermittent” spikes.
“In most of the cases where we are seeing some marginal rising number, that’s more of a result of the extraordinary work you’re doing expanding testing,” says Pence.
Alcock says Floridians are now left wondering what’s to come if the trend of positive cases continues to rise.
“So there’s concerns about whether or not data would be manipulated or suppressed in order not to reveal disturbing trends,” he says.
Alcock further adds the lack of consistency between the World Health Organization, the Trump Administration, and state officials have contributed in losing the public’s trust to help stop the spread of the virus.
The Florida Department of Health is reporting as of Wednesday morning the state has reached more than 82,000 cases and 3,000 deaths.