■ Maxwell: State officials are not helping ease the public’s coronavirus fears.
Last week, Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz was yukking it up about the coronavirus, wearing a gas mask while telling TMZ that spring breakers who visit his Panhandle district needn’t worry about their health, since booze kills the coronavirus. (It doesn’t.)
But he didn’t stop there. Gaetz also told a Vanity Fair writer that his chief of staff actually hoped he contracted the virus. Why? So Gaetz could score another appearance on a cable-news show.
A few days later, Gaetz said he was informed that his chief of staff might’ve gotten her wish.
He said he’d been exposed to the virus and decided to “selfquarantine” himself … while aboard Air Force One … with the president nearby … and while news that one of his constituents had been killed by the virus was still reverberating through his district.
Maybe none of this is unusual for Gaetz, a perennial provocateur and spotlight seeker who bathes in controversy like a warm bath.
But he isn’t the only Florida politician making brow-raising headlines about this deadly disease.
Rick Scott, Florida’s former governor, went on Fox News to accuse Ron DeSantis, Florida’s current governor, of keeping Floridians in the dark about vital information. (Tampa Bay Times: “Watch Rick Scott call out Ron DeSantis on coronavirus …”)
And then there’s Florida’s senior senator, Marco Rubio who seems to desperately want some attention on the coronavirus front as well, but isn’t sure of what to say.
As a result, Rubio first posted a Twitter video where he suggested the Democrats’ plan to spend $8 billion fighting the virus was simply a ploy to make Donald Trump look bad — only to post another Twitter video five days later telling voters how pleased he was to vote for the $8 billion plan.
What’s the takeaway from all this?
Please don’t listen to politicians. Not on this.
Doctors? Yes. Health experts? You bet. Reputable news sources that cite doctors and health experts? By all means.
But not the people who pander and politick for a living.
If our public health truly depends upon them, we’re doomed.
Ideally, elected leaders would offer calm, sober and apolitical perspective during times of crisis. Some do. But many seem more interested in scoring attention than delivering facts.
When I first learned the coronavirus threat was real, I didn’t call a politician. I called a doctor — someone who actually knows something about viruses, how they spread and how worried we should be.
I reached the head of AdventHealth’s Centra Care clinics, who didn’t recommend donning a gas mask a la Matt Gaetz. Instead, Dr. Timothy Hendrix recommended calm and sensible behavior. Wash your hands. Try to avoid contact with sick people. In other words: Do all the things you should always do. But just as important: “Enjoy life.”
I’m certainly not trying to downplay legitimate coronavirus concerns. But based on everything I’ve learned from hard data and informed experts, the flu killed 10 times more people in America alone last year than the coronavirus has killed worldwide.
Instead of watching political tweets, stick to reputable sources. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC.gov) is a good one.
AdventHealth also debuted a Coronavirus Information Line Tuesday, where anyone can ask a health expert (again, not a politician) questions by calling 877-VIRUSHQ (877- 847-8747).
Normally, I might also recommend the Florida Department of Health — except Sunshine State health officials bumbled their way through a pretty remarkable health-alert blunder this week.
Early Monday, the Department of Health issued a warning that instructed any Floridian who visited any country to “selfisolate” for 14 days.
Not only was it drastic, it was also bizarre, since it ordered Floridians who visited any country — Canada, Switzerland, you name it — to isolate themselves while saying nothing about the hordes of international visitors who arrive in our airports each day from riskier countries and head straight for the theme parks.
A few hours after Florida health officials issued that warning, they issued a major correction, saying Floridians should instead follow the recommendations of the CDC, which recommended self-isolation only for people returning from the “Level 3” health-alert countries of China, Iran, Italy and South Korea.
So I’m sticking with the CDC for solid info. And the health experts. Not the political tweets.
For the record, Gaetz insists he never tried to make light of the disease. (Perhaps forgetting his muffled-voice, gas-mask interview with TMZ where he said: “In my experience, the things that you consume on Spring Break would typically kill the coronavirus.”)
Whatever. Gaetz is gonna Gaetz. Rubio will tweet. And politicians will try to use this health scare to score points on each other.
I’m going to take my health advice from health experts who are recommending smart choices over silly stunts and political potshots.