COVID-19 has more variations than a Marvel comic villain, and as the Omicron variety spreads across the country, citizens are looking to elected authorities for help.
Governor Ron DeSantis is being chastised by Black lawmakers in Florida for supposedly going MIA during the recent surge.
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings spoke out on Wednesday about the strain on local governments after the Republican-controlled state legislature and DeSantis enacted new regulations limiting local governments’ and private enterprises’ capacity to respond to the surge.
“Our residents, all Florida residents, should be outraged, and they should ask the question, ‘Where is our state? Where is our governor? Where is Ron DeSantis now?’ When is the last time you saw the governor do a press briefing on COVID-19?” Demings told the Associated Press.
Rep. Travaris McCurdy also questioned the lack of government response.
“Shame on @GovRonDeSantis for the lack of any state-run testing sites or state assistance on locally run sites amid the omicron surge,” McCurdy tweeted.
In response to the governor’s vacation in the midst of a national catastrophe, Rep. Angie Nixon spoke up.
“Black Women don’t get to take vacations during times of crisis. Hell, we barely take them during regular times,” Nixon tweeted. “A member of our immediate family just passed, my granny has COVID now AND I’m still assisting constituents @GovRonDeSantis.”
Nixon directly attacked DeSantis’ leadership and failure to care for all Floridians equally in an interview with NewsOne.
“In a time when Florida’s COVID numbers are yet again on the rise, Ron DeSantis is missing in action,” Nixon said. “This governor has a consistent track record of failing to show up in times of crisis.”
Nixon was one among the politicians who chastised DeSantis for investing in the Regeneron treatment rather than addressing the persistent issue of vaccine equality.
DeSantis was pushing the more expensive treatment while parts of Nixon’s area struggled with vaccine equality and access to testing.
DeSantis has been in a race to the bottom with Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.
According to local news sources, the spread of Omicron in Florida has been smashing records.
Despite this, DeSantis was tweeting about high school football on Friday morning, despite the fact that the season had ended two weeks prior.
Communities around the state are in desperate need of assistance, and the governor shared a highlight film of himself playing high school football.
The tweet was sent when DeSantis became a Twitter trending topic, with many people asking where the governor of Florida was.
“It’s apparent that he has placed the health and safety of Floridians on the back burner while attempting to start his bid for president of the United States,” Nixon said.
