Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis slammed the Biden administration on Thursday following media reports that the White House could ask for a domestic travel ban to distribute new strains of COVID-19 nationwide.
“Any attempt to restrict or block Florida by the federal government is an attack on our state, purely for political purposes,” the Florida Republican said at a news conference.
“It would be unconstitutional. It would be unwise and it would be unfair,” he added, saying the move was not based on science but rather on a “political attack” on Florida residents.
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White House press secretary Jen Psaki was put under pressure during a Thursday press release on the alleged consideration of the domestic travel ban.
“We are always considering the steps needed to keep the American people safe, but we are not currently doing so – no decisions have been made on additional public health measures that would delay or change domestic travel. considerations, ‘Psaki said.
Florida is heavily dependent on tourism, which means that any attempt to stop the interstate could have major consequences for the Sunshine States.
But according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Florida is leading the number of cases of the new B.1.1.7 strain – a more contagious variant of the coronavirus, which was first reported in the UK.
Health officials are concerned that the new strains of the coronavirus that have emerged could sidestep the progress made by the vaccine as the new variant requires different treatments and changes the efficacy of current vaccines, the CDC warned.
But DeSantis pointed to the progress the state has made since the summer, when Florida saw a spike.
“Florida’s cases per capita compared to the rest of the country – 28,” DeSantis said, adding that 27 other states are worse off than Florida in the number of coronavirus cases reported since early December. “Deaths per capita, in the same period in Florida, are 42,” he continued.
DeSantis also considers the high vaccination rate of the state, especially among the elderly.
“We now report about 1.6 million seniors who got a chance, that’s about 35 percent of our huge senior population,” DeSantis said Thursday. “We are number one for shots for seniors.”
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The governor of Florida’s objection to a travel ban is a reversal of his attitude last year, when he imposed a two-week quarantine for individuals from states with high infection rates such as New York.