‘Fear is our enemy’: Gov. DeSantis urges ‘resolve’ in COVID-19 fight

Image via AP.

Gov. Ron DeSantis urged Floridians to stay calm even as a pandemic continues ravaging the state.

Speaking in St. Johns County Saturday during a hastily called press conference an hour’s drive from neighboring major media market Jacksonville, DeSantis encouraged residents to stay strong despite the state crossing the 337,000 mark of positive tests Friday.

The virus “is an enemy … but so is fear,” DeSantis said on Saturday at Flagler Hospital in St. Augustine, warning of “angst and stress” created by “headlines.”

“I think fear is our enemy, and if we approach this with steady resolve, we’ll do better,” DeSantis said, at a location seemingly cherrypicked for a positive narrative.

As he has elsewhere of late, the Governor seemed to suggest that Florida has stopped the virus’ upward trajectory.

Coronavirus, he said, is “relatively stable, probably [on a] a slight decline” with “positive movement.”

The Governor said “we’ve reached a point of stability, seeing a slight downward trend,” with many of the positive tests driving up recent numbers “reflecting infections 7-14 days ago.”

DeSantis has developed a weird narrative tic regarding the coronavirus, almost personifying it. He did that here too, noting that as compared to March, COVID-19 is “still novel, but it was more novel then.”

After days of stories about ICUs nearing capacity and experiencing shortages in both nursing staff and medication they need, such as remdesivir, the Governor picked Flagler County in St. Augustine, which had 44% of its 44 ICU beds open as of Saturday morning.

The Governor had said the virus was “stabilizing” elsewhere, and he did the same here, in a county where a commissioner is still recovering from a severe bout with COVID-19, and which saw a 10% rate of positives in tests processed Friday.

“Pretty significantly below the statewide average,” DeSantis said, noting emergency room declines week-over-week.

DeSantis chose St. Augustine over neighboring Duval County, set to host the Republican National Convention next month amidst a series of occupancy restrictions and outdoor venues that have not mollified fears of a “super-spreader” event.

Duval also has “stabilized,” DeSantis noted, with a “stabilization in some of their admissions, COVID admissions.”