GOP State Leaders Dismiss Health Experts Concerns as COVID-19 Cases Spike in Their State

Some Republican governors are sharing their thoughts regarding a spike in coronavirus cases in their state, seemingly not wanting to fully close up their states’ economies again.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is one of the governors who does not approve of sweepingly closing his state again amid the coronavirus pandemic. The state of Florida has seen an increase in coronavirus infections, causing the state to backtrack as it recently closed down bars.

Florida, Texas, and Arizona have become the latest U.S. epicenters of the virus with breaking record numbers of infection rates. There are 2,730,803 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the U.S., as of Wednesday morning, Florida has 152,434 known cases. Jumping within a week, Florida went from 2,926 news cases on June 22 to 9,585 new cases on June 27, and 5,266 new cases on June 29.

DeSantis, however, has put his foot down, saying on Tuesday, “We’re not going back, closing things.”

“I don’t think that that really is what’s driving it, people going to a business is not what’s driving it,” he continued. “I think when you see the younger folks, I think a lot of it is more just social interactions, so that’s natural. Obviously, you had a lot of different activities going on in different parts of the state. … So that’s just the reality.”

DeSantis added:

“We’re open, we know who we need to protect, most of the folks in those younger demographics, although we want them to be mindful of what’s going on, are just simply much much less at risk than the folks who are in those older age groups.”

Additionally, several beaches are expected to stay open for the Fourth of July weekend in Florida.

Texas is also one of the several states that saw an increase in coronavirus infections, resulting in its governor, Greg Abbott (R), to reverse course in closing bars and restaurants as well as not allowing gatherings larger than 100 people.

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, however, is dismissing the cautions from Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, about coronavirus spikes.

He told Fox News on Tuesday evening about Fauci’s concerns that states have relaxed lockdowns and social distancing too early, “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

“The only thing I’m skipping over is listening to him,” Patrick said, adding, “I don’t need his advice anymore. We’ll listen to a lot of science, we’ll listen to a lot of doctors … No thank you, Dr. Fauci.”

Patrick, however, went on to note that there was a record high in new coronavirus cases and a record in hospitalizations this week. But he added that there were 58 deaths over the past three days.

There are a total of 166,703 confirmed cases in the state of Texas. Since June 14 of 1,422 confirmed new cases in the state, Texas has seen an increase to 6,584 new cases on June 24 and 6,319 new cases on June 29.

At least 16 states have put a pause or rolled back on reopening their economies. The U.S. saw a record spike since the start of the pandemic in new cases on Tuesday with more than 47,000, as IJR reported.

“Clearly we are not in total control right now,” Fauci said during a Senate committee hearing on Tuesday.

Fauci also said, “We can’t just focus on those areas that are having the surge. It puts the entire country at risk.”