Schumer Says It Is ‘Premature’ to Claim Florida Has Succeeded in Coronavirus Fight

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is warning Florida officials against declaring victory in the fight against coronavirus.

On Wednesday, Florida Gov. Ron Desantis (R ) blasted the members of the media for criticizing his state’s response to the virus. He also said the state had “succeeded” without implementing statewide stay-at-home orders.

“What he’s saying is premature,” Schumer said during an appearance on ABC’s “The View” on Thursday. “Most of the experts say if this is going to come back, because we moved too soon, it’ll take several months before that happens.”

He continued, “To compare New York and Florida is sort of like apples and oranges. We were the hotspot. We had more coronavirus cases than anybody else.”

“And so, I think you’ve got to be careful, and you’ve got to listen to the scientists,” he added.

Schumer also said it is “premature at best and could be dangerous” to suggest that Florida has succeeded in the coronavirus fight and lift restrictions.

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Desantis on Wednesday appeared to claim victory in the battle against coronavirus, “So we have succeeded, and I think that people just don’t want to recognize it because it challenges their narrative, it challenges their assumptions.”

He also slammed reporters who “waxed poetically for weeks” and predicted an explosion of cases of the virus.

He continued, “Wait two weeks, Florida’s going to be next. Just like Italy, wait two weeks. Well, hell we’re eight weeks away from that, and it hasn’t happened.”

“So they got to try and find a boogeyman, maybe that there are black helicopters circling the Department of Health. If you believe that, I got a bridge in Brooklyn I’d like to sell you,” he added.

As the coronavirus spread around the world and states across the country implemented lockdown measures, scientists warned that lifting restrictions too early could leave society vulnerable to another wave of the virus in the fall. 

Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider told CBS News that a second coronavirus is “very, very likely to happen.”

She added, “This may put a heavy strain on an already taxed healthcare system, so I think we need to be preparing for this now.”