Republican governors take contrasting approach over COVID-19 handling

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Republican governors Ron DeSantis of Florida and Greg Abbott of Texas had taken different paths in COVID-19 handling which indicates the extent of their loyalty to President Donald Trump.
• DeSantis has largely displayed Trump’s response towards the pandemic such as downplaying its severity and refusing to issue mask-wearing mandates.
• Abbott, meanwhile, took a-little stronger steps as he already imposed a face-covering requirement and had limited social gatherings.

Two Republican governors from two of the biggest states in the US have a contrasting approach in handling the COVID-19 resurgence.

A major ally of President Donald Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis continues to downplay the pandemic’s severity despite the worsening situation. Meanwhile, Texas Governor Greg Abbott already took measures to mitigate the virus, but not as stringent as the ways of many Democratic governors or even some fellow Republicans.

Their actions indicate how GOP governors are inclined to adhere to Trump’s COVID-19 handling in the country.

According to political observers, DeSantis’ relationship with Trump likely influenced his approach to the pandemic.

“Clearly, they’ve been joined together politically, and DeSantis owes the fact that he is governor today to President Trump,” said political scientist Aubrey Jewett, from the University of Central Florida.

Similar to Trump, DeSantis has consistently belittled the COVID-19 scare. The first-time governor was usually hostile against imposing COVID-19 measures. He rejected the idea of implementing a statewide mask-wearing mandate. He also slashed the disease treatment funding in prisons and disregarded the allocation for the state’s online learning education. 

Despite having 11,500 new infections and about 9,000 hospitalized individuals on Friday alone, DeSantis said that the cases were stabilizing.

Abbott, on the other hand, has altered some of his previous responses in Texas. He recently switched his mask-wearing objection and had it imposed in various counties. It was applied to most counties statewide although some local sheriffs had denied implementing it.

Associate Dean and Professor Ezemenari Obasi of the University of Houston Health Research Institute said that the mandate would be conducive, but still not enough to mitigate the spread of coronavirus.

“I appreciate that it must have taken a lot of courage for him to move forward with the latest executive order … but it’s also in very specific counties. That’s not enough,” Obasi said.

Abbott prohibited local authorities to issue their own restrictions during the initial period of the pandemic, but then he permitted the local government to issue mandatory wearing of face coverings both for employees and customers in business establishments. He also suspended casual hospital surgeries and imposed a social gathering limit to a maximum of nine people.

As of Friday, Texas hit a record of 10,256 new cases with 174 fatalities. Additional body bags and refrigerated trucks have been ordered by local officials based on a report.

Florida and Texas were both commended as victors against COVID-19 disease as the two governors were congratulated by Trump. But now, both states are among the hardest hits in the US.

Source: The Hill