June 29, 2020 | 7:17am | Updated June 29, 2020 | 8:01am
Florida’s governor has blamed younger people for the dramatic surge in coronavirus cases — claiming it’s impossible to stop them from partying.
“If you look at that 25 to 34 age group, that is now by far the leading age group for positive tests,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a press conference Sunday, as seen on Wink News.
He insisted you “can’t control” them because “they’re younger people.”
“They’re going to do what they’re going to do,” DeSantis said.
Cell phone data partially backs the governor’s theory — rebellious Floridians had begun leaving their homes more frequently even before reopenings started on May 4, the Tampa Bay Times said.
Bars also take some of the blame, DeSantis said as he decried “widespread noncompliance” in packed establishments that “tossed aside” safety guidelines.
“It has invariably been because they packed so many people in and created a type of environment that we are trying to avoid,” DeSantis said. “Caution was thrown to the wind and so we are where we are.”
Even with record numbers of infections — with 8,500 new confirmed cases and 29 deaths Sunday — the governor insists that the age-group trend makes the pandemic not as serious as it appears because the disease does not pose as much of a threat to younger people.
An intensive care doctor who appeared alongside him, Jason Foland, said many appeared to have a weaker strain of the bug — which he argued could also explain why it was being spread so widely.
“If you get sick very quickly with an aggressive strain, you’re not out in the community and you’re not spreading it,” Foland said.
“If you have symptoms much like the common cold, you’re spreading it all over the place.”
Despite claiming he could not control the younger population, DeSantis urged them to be considerate of “more vulnerable” community members.
In contrast, seniors in the Sunshine State have been “very, very diligent,” DeSantis said.
“I know it’s gone on now, we’re in the third month of this, and it can be tiring ― we just ask that you maintain that diligence,” he said.
In total, Florida now has more than 141,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and more than 3,400 deaths.
With Post Wires
