Florida’s Ron DeSantis falsely claims ‘a lot of people in public health’ think a shutdown is a ‘bad thing to do’

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has been unwilling to shut down his state. Now he's questioning if there is a scientific basis for shutting things down in his state.

At first, it was due to the financial profits the state depends on during Spring Break. He then tried to blame Florida coronavirus cases on people coming to the state from the New York tri-state area. The complaint prompted President Donald Trump to say he wanted to quarantine the whole area. (He later changed his mind.)

According to Tampa Bay Times and Miami Herald reporter Lawrence Mower, DeSantis is questioning the science calling for lockdowns.

"The literature on doing the shutdown is very, very mixed. There are a lot of people in public health who think that that’s a bad thing to do," said DeSantis.

The literature is not mixed.

A whopping 800,000 doctors signed onto a letter to Trump telling him to listen to the warnings and keep people social-distancing.

Self-isolation doesn't stop or cure the coronavirus, rather it stops the spread of the coronavirus. The "curve" that experts keep talking about is about the need of hospital beds on the expected number of serious cases of the virus. The curve they're trying to flatten is the number of people who get it all at once. It's about slowing the spread so hospitals aren't overwhelmed and more people die. "Casual" isolation and parttime self-distancing aren't working.

It's unknown who is advising DeSantis on his scientific decisions, but it's clear that the experts he is consulting are not those working in the hospitals today or working in public health.