Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is reportedly considering reopening Florida schools. The governor seems to under the impression that COVID-19 does not affect young people.
If the misinformed politician does reopen schools, he should make sure he takes a few classes. Ron DeSantis clearly missed out on some critical education in his life.
Yesterday, during a roundtable discussion, DeSantis sounded interested in sending children back to school this year.
He said:
If it’s safe, we want kids to be in school. … Even if it’s for a couple of weeks, we think there would be value in that.
His logic is based on the fact that he believes young people are unaffected by COVID-19.
DeSantis continues:
This particular pandemic is one where, I don’t think nationwide there’s been a single fatality under 25. For whatever reason it just doesn’t seem to threaten, you know, kids.
Somebody has not been doing their homework. According to the Huffington Post, one baby, one person between 1-4 years-old, and six people age 15-24 have died in the U.S. from COVID-19.
DeSantis doubled down on his ignorance:
If you’re younger, it just hasn’t had an impact, so that should factor into how we’re viewing this. I think the data on that has been 100% consistent.
According to the CDC, at least 147 children, and likely many more, have been hospitalized due to COVID-19 in the U.S.
Florida has often been a punchline for the rest of the country, and this move only reinforces their position. Places with sensible leadership, like Los Angeles, just announced a lockdown extension through mid-May. Dozens of states, including California and Michigan, have already canceled the school year. Even Georgia, whose governor just recently found out people without symptoms can spread coronavirus, has ended the school year.
Florida? They seem to be doing everything they can to expose their population to the virus. Ron DeSantis was one of the very last governors to impose a statewide lockdown on April 1st. While most other states had issued stay-at-home orders, spring breakers in Florida were still partying like it was 2019. Now spring break capital Miami is a coronavirus hub, with over 6,000 confirmed cases.
DeSantis is still allowing religious gatherings, and now he wants to send children out into the fray. Even if the virus isn’t as harmful to children, they can still catch it and spread it to teachers, parents, and adults at church.
If I were a Florida resident under Ron DeSantis, I’d be terrified. It’s bad enough we have a clueless president. First, Donald Trump called the virus a hoax. Then, a little over a week ago, the White House predicted up to 240,000 U.S. coronavirus deaths. Now Trump is reportedly pressing to reopen the country by May 1st.
DeSantis is cut from the same clueless cloth. During a recent press conference, he wore one glove and touched his face with his bare hand.
Clearly, DeSantis missed a few classes during his education–most notably, health class. But, if he ends up reopening schools, Florida should start teaching class on common sense and reserve a front-row seat for Ron DeSantis.