COVID Again Rampant in Jax

[BridgeTroll]

I'm still waiting for Biden's mask mandates and vaccination mandates for the general public... double standards?

[jaxoNOLE]

I'm still waiting for Biden's mask mandates and vaccination mandates for the general public... double standards?

I think it's entirely fair to call out the difference between "not issuing mandates" and "not issuing mandates, while preempting everybody under you from issuing mandates." Biden's lack of mandates doesn't prevent DeSantis from doing the right thing, but DeSantis is preventing local governments from doing anything.

[acme54321]

Yeah I've been OK with what most of what DeSantis does but this stuff preventing local governments from doing stuff is a bit wonky.

[BridgeTroll]

Yeah I've been OK with what most of what DeSantis does but this stuff preventing local governments from doing stuff is a bit wonky.

I agree. I would like a better explanation for these decisions other than the silly trump copy cat bs.

  I actually would like to see us using those fancy vaccination cards we got for our jabs. Show your card to get on an airplane or public transportation. Show your card for discount medical insurance or services. Show your card and get half off your dinner or bar tab. Show your card and get discounts on groceries.

[jaxoNOLE]

Yeah I've been OK with what most of what DeSantis does but this stuff preventing local governments from doing stuff is a bit wonky.

I agree. I would like a better explanation for these decisions other than the silly trump copy cat bs.

  I actually would like to see us using those fancy vaccination cards we got for our jabs. Show your card to get on an airplane or public transportation. Show your card for discount medical insurance or services. Show your card and get half off your dinner or bar tab. Show your card and get discounts on groceries.

Isn't this enough? 
https://krispykreme.com/promos/vaccineoffer

[MusicMan]

Anybody remember the landslide margin of victory DeSantis enjoyed?  Newsome is polling better now than the margin DeSantis won by.

[Charles Hunter]

Yeah I've been OK with what most of what DeSantis does but this stuff preventing local governments from doing stuff is a bit wonky.

I agree. I would like a better explanation for these decisions other than the silly trump copy cat bs.

  I actually would like to see us using those fancy vaccination cards we got for our jabs. Show your card to get on an airplane or public transportation. Show your card for discount medical insurance or services. Show your card and get half off your dinner or bar tab. Show your card and get discounts on groceries.

Isn't this enough? 
https://krispykreme.com/promos/vaccineoffer

Wouldn't the Krispy Kreme (or any other) discount based on Showing Proof of Vaccination violate the law prohibiting "vaccine passports"? 
Is a discount a "service" of a business?

"(1) A business entity, as defined in s. 768.38 to include any business operating in this state, may not require patrons or customers to provide any documentation certifying COVID-19 vaccination or post-infection recovery to gain access to, entry upon, or service from the business operations in this state." Fla. Stat. § 381.00316

[vicupstate]

I'm still waiting for Biden's mask mandates and vaccination mandates for the general public... double standards?

Unlike the Governor of a state, he has no such powers. Not to mention the fact that the problem is far worse in FL than the vast majority of states.   

[jaxoNOLE]

I'm still waiting for Biden's mask mandates and vaccination mandates for the general public... double standards?

Unlike the Governor of a state, he has no such powers. Not to mention the fact that the problem is far worse in FL than the vast majority of states.

I don't mean this critically, but he certainly has some power. Enough federal funding goes to schools and other programs that he could exercise some coercive power to achieve policy goals. I'm glad he isn't, as it really should fall to governors, but he was veep to Mr. I've Got A Pen And A Phone. The option to test the limits of his power is there if he wanted to pursue a more top-down response.

[JeffreyS]

I'm still waiting for Biden's mask mandates and vaccination mandates for the general public... double standards?

A bit of a stretch Biden hasn't blocked mask mandates and prevented businesses from checking the vaccine status of those using the businesses space or services.
I do think Biden could be criticized for not being more aggressive.

[BridgeTroll]

I'm still waiting for Biden's mask mandates and vaccination mandates for the general public... double standards?

Unlike the Governor of a state, he has no such powers. Not to mention the fact that the problem is far worse in FL than the vast majority of states.   

of course the president can mandate... there are plenty of political reasons he hasn't... hmmmm... why ?

[jaxlongtimer]

Looks like Curry is tying his wagon to DeSantis and Trump.  I guess he hasn't heard yet that the Delta variant is good at breaking through vaccines and is also transmittable by those vaccinated thus requiring everyone to continue wearing masks for now.  Another "denier."

Conversely, Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry spoke out against a mandate on Twitter.

"No mandates. Educate," Curry wrote. "Get the vaccine, please. It works."

https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/education/2021/08/03/jacksonville-area-schools-require-masks-opt-out-clause/5477059001/

A 21 gun salute to the Duval County School Board for standing up to DeSantis and creatively creating a non-mandate mandate for masks in our schools.

The Duval County School Board voted late Tuesday night to make face masks required among students unless parents or guardians opt-out with appropriate paperwork.

Adding the layer of paperwork for families who want their students to opt-out of mask wearing marks an attempted workaround to the governor's executive order.

"Any student not wearing a mask pursuant to this policy must, through his/her/their parent or guardian, complete the opt out procedures provided by his/her/their assigned school," the official language says.

I believe that the State constitution has a requirement that governs uniform support for all students in the state.  If so, I wonder if DeSantis's threat would hold up in court.  The below is from Article IX, Section 1 of the State constitution, for starters:

SECTION 1. Public education.—
(a) The education of children is a fundamental value of the people of the State of Florida. It is, therefore, a paramount duty of the state to make adequate provision for the education of all children residing within its borders. Adequate provision shall be made by law for a uniform, efficient, safe, secure, and high quality system of free public schools that allows students to obtain a high quality education and for the establishment, maintenance, and operation of institutions of higher learning and other public education programs that the needs of the people may require.

Further referenced in the Florida Statutes, Title XLVIII, 1000.01:

(4) UNIFORM SYSTEM OF PUBLIC K-12 SCHOOLS INCLUDED.—As required by s. 1, Art. IX of the State Constitution, the Florida K-20 education system shall include the uniform system of free public K-12 schools. These public K-12 schools shall provide 13 consecutive years of instruction, beginning with kindergarten, and shall also provide such instruction for students with disabilities, gifted students, limited English proficient students, and students in Department of Juvenile Justice programs as may be required by law. The funds for support and maintenance of the uniform system of free public K-12 schools shall be derived from state, district, federal, and other lawful sources or combinations of sources, including any fees charged nonresidents as provided by law.

To add, it looks like my citation above may be correct based on the quote below:

....Callan says while DeSantis is sending a strong message on masks, his views are not binding and his order is not likely to withstand a court challenge.

"The executive order itself does not do anything that carries legal consequences," said Briffault.

"The (executive order) is actually pretty toothless in that all of the sections of law he invokes do not deprive the Department of Health of its power as the ultimate decision maker regarding measures necessary to inhibit the spread of communicable diseases as outlined in Section 1003.22(3) of Florida Statutes."

"It is highly unlikely that the courts would permit the state to withhold funding from school districts which insist on masking children as a necessary health measure particularly when the CDC recommends masking," Callan said.

Callan says opponents of the measure are likely to cite that under Article IX of the Florida Constitution, the state has a duty to educate all children.

"Cutting off funding to districts which choose to require masking to prevent the spread of Covid-19, a potentially deadly communicable disease, would violate the states 'paramount duty' to educate all children, not just the unmasked," Callan said.

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2021/08/04/us/florida-school-mask-mandate-law/index.html

[jaxlongtimer]

From Mark Woods column, an example of how the unvaccinated ARE IMPACTING the health of the vaccinated.  It was pointed out they managed to get the surgery but others are not so lucky.:

Pat and Howard Leventhal will celebrate their 55th wedding anniversary Saturday.

This supposedly is the emerald anniversary. But Mrs. Leventhal doesn't want any green gems. She just wants her husband to have his scheduled surgery for colon cancer Friday and begin a path to some more anniversaries.

"That will be the best present ever," she said.

Last Friday they were worried they wouldn't even make it to the surgery part. When Howard went for pre-admission lab work, they were told that with hospital beds rapidly filling up with COVID-19 patients, his surgery had to be canceled.

Pat Leventhal describes this as "the closest I've ever felt to being punched in the gut."....

https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/columns/mark-woods/2021/08/04/covid-wave-has-become-tsunami-florida-hospitals-health-workers/5456579001/

[Adam White]

Unfortunately the national media focus on DeSantis is simply a redirection from the train wrecks of Newsome and Cuomo in California and New York... Impeachment and recalls... is DeSantis next?

Coverage of DeSantis *might* also be linked to the fact that FL is the worst performing state COVID-wise at the moment...

But I guess conspiracy theories are more fun.

+100

Lol... what conspiracy?  They are train wrecks...

They are total train wrecks. But so is DeSantis. As I read your post, it seemed you were saying that the media is focusing on DeSantis instead of Newsome and Cuomo, which clearly isn't the case. I could have misread what you meant, though.

[BridgeTroll]

From Mark Woods column, an example of how the unvaccinated ARE IMPACTING the health of the vaccinated.  It was pointed out they managed to get the surgery but others are not so lucky.:

Pat and Howard Leventhal will celebrate their 55th wedding anniversary Saturday.

This supposedly is the emerald anniversary. But Mrs. Leventhal doesn't want any green gems. She just wants her husband to have his scheduled surgery for colon cancer Friday and begin a path to some more anniversaries.

"That will be the best present ever," she said.

Last Friday they were worried they wouldn't even make it to the surgery part. When Howard went for pre-admission lab work, they were told that with hospital beds rapidly filling up with COVID-19 patients, his surgery had to be canceled.

Pat Leventhal describes this as "the closest I've ever felt to being punched in the gut."....

https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/columns/mark-woods/2021/08/04/covid-wave-has-become-tsunami-florida-hospitals-health-workers/5456579001/

I just had shoulder surgery two days ago( torn rotator cuff and labrum).  It was out patient and done at a surgery center so beds not an issue...