Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday he will not back down from his position on mask mandates even as the state again broke its record for COVID-19 hospitalizations.
He insisted that the spike will be short-lived.
Speaking in Miami, DeSantis said expects hospitalizations to drop in the next couple weeks, after the summer heat and humidity ease and Floridians spend more time outdoors.
DeSantis repeated his stance that people have the freedom to make their own decisions.
“These interventions have failed time and time again throughout this pandemic, not just in the United States, but abroad,” DeSantis said. “They have not stopped the spread. Particularly with delta, which is even more transmissible, if it didn’t stop it before, it definitely ain’t gonna stop it now.”
President Joe Biden has criticized DeSantis' approach.
“It's clear to me and to most of the medical experts that the decisions being made, like not allowing mask mandates in school and the like, are bad health policy — bad health policy,” Biden said Tuesday.
The number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 in Florida has risen to an all-time high of 11,515 patients, according to data was released Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
That's 11 times more than the number hospitalized in mid-June and, for a third consecutive day, breaks a previous record for current hospitalizations set more than a year ago before vaccines were available.
The figures also show 2,400 of those patients are in ICU beds.
The previous day, the data showed there were 10,389 COVID-hospitalizations in the state.
Last year, Florida hit its previous peak on July 23, with 10,170 hospitalizations.
Information from News Service of Florida was used in this report.
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