“I’m so sick of politicians and we’ve seen it with COVID, trying to instill fear in the population,” the Republican governor said. “We had people calling, mothers worried about whether their children could catch it in schools.” “We are not afraid,” he added. “And we’re not going to go out and try to stir people up and try to act like they can’t live their lives the way they normally did because of something.” DeSantis, who has been a vocal critic of the Biden administration’s response to COVID-19, also criticized states imposing emergency measures related to monkeypox. “You see some of these states declaring a state of emergency. They will abuse these emergency powers to curtail your freedom. I guarantee you that will happen,” DeSantis said. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) declared a disaster in her state last weekend due to the outbreak. California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, both Democrats, also declared a state of emergency over the virus on Monday. Rep. Charlie Crist (D-Fla.), who is running against DeSantis in Florida’s gubernatorial election, criticized the governor’s comments on Twitter. NotedDC – Kansas Abortion Vote Shocks. White House flags fly at half-staff in honor of Indiana Republican “While Governor DeSantis is rejecting Monkeypox, high-risk Floridians still need better information, better testing and access to vaccines for prevention,” Crist wrote. The governor’s comments come as Florida has recorded 525 cases of monkeypox, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There are 6,617 confirmed cases across the US as of Wednesday.
