Florida’s coronavirus crazy quilt is DeSantis’ responsibility
What is Ron DeSantis waiting for?
While more and more states recognize the wisdom of short-term shutdowns of their states to avoid long-term health and economic consequences, Florida’s governor keeps flailing about.
Thanks largely to his inaction and indecisiveness, Florida has become a crazy quilt of state and local coronavirus orders.
Counties like Orange and Osceola are telling people to stay home, with some exceptions, while neighboring counties like Lake, Volusia and Brevard are not.
After saying it had no interest in following Orange and Osceola’s lead, Seminole County then imposed an order reducing the number of people allowed in businesses at one time and forcing people to stay 6 feet away from each other.
Flagler County hasn’t taken official action asking most residents to stay at home, except in its largest city, Palm Coast, where the mayor signed a proclamation on March 22 urging its residents to do just that.
Pinellas County has issued a “safer-athome” order but the mayor of St. Petersburg thinks it’s too weak.
This in a state where lawmakers and governors have for years wrung their hands about “patchwork” regulations. Now that the stakes are really high, the state has gone hands-off.
DeSantis must be starting to recognize the folly in a hodgepodge of official directives. On Monday he finally issued a directive ordering four Southeast Florida counties — which account for some 60% of the state’s coronavirus cases — to keep their people at home except to go out for essentials. Even then, his order is in effect only through April 15. Does the governor really think we’re going to see enough improvement in two weeks to lift the order? Even President Trump now concedes social distancing guidelines should remain in place through the end of April, a reversal from his hopes of getting back to normal by Easter.
What the governor should do is wait for more counties to become viral hot-spots before extending his order. He needs to get in front of the problem rather than stand around and watch it race away from his grasp.
There’s also this: The Miami Herald reported Tuesday that one of the epidemiologists who helped persuade the White House to extend the social distancing guidelines advised the Florida surgeon general to close the state.
DeSantis said late Tuesday afternoon that he was unaware of the guidance. Might be a good idea for the governor to look into it.
Because with each day, more and more of his peers across the country recognize the urgency of acting broadly and decisively.
Just this week governors in Kansas, Maryland, Montana, North Carolina and Virginia issued statewide stay-at-home orders. A map showing which states have taken action so far illustrates the bipartisan conviction that this is the most effective way to slow the spread of coronavirus.
Seattle, where the outbreak first became apparent, was an early adopter of isolating its population. New data suggest that may be helping to slow the spread.
And still the governor of Florida dawdles, taking half measures.
The frustration of local officials with the governor was evident Monday during an Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board teleconference with Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings.
Demings was frustrated that DeSantis has shown little interest in consulting with the state’s local officials, noting that he hadn’t traded a word with the governor until he was in town last week for a press briefing.
“Sometimes I wonder if he’s [DeSantis is] paralyzed by his relationship with the president, not wanting to offend the president,” Demings said.
The governor should be acting in close partnership with county and municipal leaders, not leaving them to their own devices.
As much as Floridians need to remain physically separate, it’s just as important for all levels of government to be working in concert. That starts with the state’s chief executive, the governor. We understand he’s relatively new to the job. We understand this is unlike anything a Florida governor has faced in the past. We understand the delicate balance between keeping people safe and keeping people prosperous.
It’s a tough job but it’s the one DeSantis signed up for.
The clock is ticking, and it seems inevitable that DeSantis will eventually take the statewide step he so dreads.
The governor’s opportunity to do it and minimize casualties is fast receding.