Ron DeSantis

According to a report from the Miami Herald, Florida hospitals are being overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients once again in frightening numbers as the Delta variant spreads rapidly among the unvaccinated in the state.

Florida has long been a hot spot for COVID-19 infections as Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has resisted recommendations from health officials and refuses to mandate the wearing of masks -- recently giving parents the option of not masking up their kids returning to school.

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis was harshly criticized on CNN as Florida set its daily record for the most number of new coronavirus cases in the history of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber explained why DeSantis was failing at responding to the pandemic during an interview with CNN's Ryan Nobles.

The state of Florida on Saturday reported the most new daily cases of coronavirus during the entire history of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Miami Herald reports.

Florida reported 21,683 new cases to the Centers for Disease Control, which is 12.1% higher than the previous record that was set on January 7th.

Ron DeSantis is spending $3.6 million to send $1000 paper checks emblazoned with the logo of the Florida Governor through the mail to the state's police officers and first responders, and teachers and principals, rather than use the direct deposit payroll systems currently in place. The $1000 checks are being called "bonuses" but the funds actually come from President Joe Biden's federal stimulus program.

The checks will not have the logo of the President of the United States or the Democratic Party. No Republican Senator or Congressman voted to pass the bill that funded the $1000 checks.

A group of doctors in Florida is outraged by Gov. Ron DeSantis' handling of the COVID-19 pandemic as the governor continues to rail against public health officials' recommendations to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.

According to WLRN, the group, which consists of more than 400 Florida physicians, is pushing back against the Republican governor, and arguing that his leadership is actually contributing to the rise in COVID cases.

Donald Trump has hinted that he might choose Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as his running mate if he enters the 2024 race, but he might have to move again first.

The twice-impeached one-term president changed his residence to Florida in late 2019, while still living in the White House, but a rarely invoked constitutional provision in the 12th Amendment may force him to pull up stakes again if he wants the GOP governor on the ticket, reported the Tampa Bay Times.

On Wednesday, Axios reported that Remove Ron, a political action committee dedicated to defeating Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) in 2022, is trying a new approach: launching an ad that seeks to make Trump paranoid that DeSantis will undercut him for his own political ambitions.

"We tried to warn you, Donald," said the narrator. "Ron's coming for you. And now he's taking your donors. They've given millions more to Ron than you, Donald. It's because they know you're weak."

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been a devout Trump supporter, and many pundits have described him as the Republican who would be the most likely to win the 2024 GOP presidential nomination if former President Donald Trump doesn't run. But DeSantis is now coming under fire from anti-vax extremists on the far right for urging Floridians to get vaccinated from the COVID-19 coronavirus.

Politico reporter Matt Dixon explains, "Florida's COVID crisis has wedged Gov. Ron DeSantis between two competing forces: public health experts who urge him to do more and anti-vaxxers who want him to do less. The Republican governor has come under attack from the medical community and Democrats as the Delta strain of COVID-19 sweeps through Florida, turning it into a national coronavirus hotspot."

The US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced Monday it would require more than 100,000 health care personnel to get Covid-19 vaccines, signaling a change in the Biden administration's attitude to mandates as the Delta variant fueled a new nationwide wave.

The move came as part of a broader shift as California and New York City said official workers would need to get vaccinated or take weekly tests, with California extending the requirement to private-sector health jobs.

The state of Florida now accounts for one in five new coronavirus infections in the United States, making it the nation's most alarming hot spot as the highly transmissible Delta strain rips through undervaccinated communities and drives a surge in hospitalizations.

According to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Florida has recorded 73,181 new Covid-19 cases over the past week, the most in the country. Florida also logged the most coronavirus deaths of any U.S. state in the last seven days—319—and hospitalizations are spiking, prompting dire warnings from physicians and calls for public safety measures to stop the spread.

Some Republicans have made efforts to fight back against the vaccine misinformation broadcast by right-wing networks such as Fox News, especially as their states are getting hit hard by the delta variant of the novel coronavirus.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis urged his constituents to get vaccinated on Wednesday.