The coronavirus cases have seen a record number in Florida and Texas. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Texas Governor Greg Abbott blamed increased testing as well as outbreaks in high-risk areas such as jail and assisted living facilities for the spike in coronavirus cases.
DeSantis also blamed the migrant worker communities for the increase. Both of them have also refused to accept the request by local officials to mandate the use of face masks.
During a press conference held this week, Florida Governor DeSantis also refused to answer the questions which blamed him for the spike in cases as he reopened the state without any proper rules to contain the spread of the virus.
He blamed the crowded living conditions in migrant families for the spike in the cases. He said that “the state would take a closer look at the spread of the virus among construction workers and day laborers”. DeSantis called them “overwhelmingly Hispanic”.
Speaking about the spread of the virus at a watermelon farm in Alachua County DeSantis said that the “the close contact” in those households, as well as the work surroundings of the farm laborers, are leading to the spike in cases.
In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott said that the state’s hospital bed capacity is in far better condition now than it was when the pandemic first hit at the beginning of this year.
Abbott continues to insist that wearing a face mask is not necessary and local officials should be using other methods like fining people for large gatherings. He said that the spike in cases happened because of a batch of positive tests that came from Texas prisons on June 10 and an error in the data of Pecos County.
Abbott said “as we continue the process of opening Texas, as we continue to have Texas return to their jobs so that they are able to earn a paycheck that will help them pay their bills and put food on their tables. We remain laser-focused on maintaining abundant hospital capacity.”
Increased testing, wearing face masks, and maintaining social distances are some of the methods that the countries around the globe are accepting to stop the spread of the virus. The two Governors however said that they had always expected the spike in the cases with the increased testing.
