Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ridiculed the mask recommendations made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in a speech in Utah.
“Did you not get the CDC’s memo?” he told the largely unmasked audience of about 450 people in Salt Lake City Wednesday during a 15-minute address to the American Legislative Exchange Council, reports The Salt Lake Tribune. “I don’t see you complying.”
The CDC announced new recommendations on Tuesday that vaccinated people return to wearing masks indoors in parts of the U.S. where the coronavirus is surging.
The South Florida Sun Sentinel noted DeSantis’ comments came as Florida reported 16,038 cases of COVID-19, the largest single day number since Jan. 15, according to the paper. Recently, Florida accounted for 20% of all new cases in the U.S.
DeSantis attributed the rise in numbers to “a summer COVID Season.”
According to the newspaper the Republican governor also praised Florida’s rejections of school closures and mask mandates.
“It is very important that we say unequivocally no to lockdowns, no to school closures, no to restrictions and no to mandates,” he said.
Meanwhile, Local 10 television news reported that the School Board of Broward County in South Florida voted Wednesday to impose a mask mandate at all the district schools.
