Kriseman: DeSantis policy on Covid is ‘short-sighted’
November 27, 2020 - St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman is sharply criticizing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, after DeSantis extended an executive order that bars local governments from enforcing violations of mask mandates. DeSantis extended the order Tuesday, as the state reported increasing numbers of cases of Covid-19. Officials in St. Petersburg had been citing businesses that did not require workers or patrons to wear masks and the governor's order "makes it more difficult for us to have an impact and do what we can to lower these numbers in our communities," Kriseman said Friday on CNN. "For a governor who claims to be all about economic development and looking out for businesses, this is very short-sighted policy that he’s got in place. It will be far worse for our business community and the people who work in those businesses if we have to do a complete shutdown because our numbers explode and there’s no beds in our hospitals." Kriseman said the mandatory face covering ordinance in Pinellas County has made a difference, because the county's positivity rate - or percent of people who take a Covid-19 test and test positive - is more than 1 percentage point lower than the rest of the state. As of Friday, there have been 32,408 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Pinellas County since March, an increase of 613 cases since the state department of health last reported case counts on Wednesday. There was one additional death since Wednesday, bringing the total number of deaths attributed to Covid-19 to 885. Pinellas County hospitals report 167 people were hospitalized as of Friday afternoon with a primary diagnosis of Covid, but more than one-third of the total hospital beds in the county remain available, the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration said.