TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday expressed his strong opposition to reports that the Biden administration is considering domestic travel restrictions in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19.
“I think it would be unconstitutional, it would be unwise and it would be unjust,” DeSantis said during a press conference at Kings Gate Community in Port Charlotte Thursday morning. “Restricting the right of Americans to travel freely throughout our country while allowing illegal aliens to pour across the southern border unmolested would be a ridiculous but very damaging farce.”
According to the Miami Herald, the restrictions would not target a specific state, rather prevent the spread from states with surging COVID-19 numbers.
“We will oppose it 100 percent,” DeSantis said. “It would not be based in science, it would purely be a political attack against the people of Florida… Any attempt to restrict or lockdown Florida by the federal government would be an attack on our state done purely for political purposes.”
Data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention shows that the Sunshine State now has a third of the nation’s B.1.1.7 COVID variant cases. Currently, there are 932 reported cases of the B.1.1.7 variant in the U.S., 343 of which are located in Florida.
Additionally, the Florida Department of Health reported 323,996 new COVID-19 cases in the month of December and 398,062 cases in January compared to 317,952 cases in July when the state started seeing a surge in cases.
However, DeSantis says the overall COVID-19 situation in the state has decreased compared to the rest of the nation.
“Since Dec. 1, well over half the country has seen much worse COVID results than here in Florida. But all you have to do too is just look at some of the trends,” he said. “Over the winter, Florida peaked at much less level than we did over the summer months and we were way less per capita than a lot of locked down states that are always cited as being ‘the right way to do it.'”
A White House spokesperson says, “there have been no decisions made around additional public health measures for domestic travel safety. The administration is continuing to discuss recommendations across the travel space, but no specific decisions are under consideration.”
DeSantis, however, said he will hold firm in his opposition, especially if it affects Floridians.
“We’ve had to stand by Floridians throughout time and again and we will do so going forward,” he said. “We will not back down and if anyone tries to harm Floridians or target us, we will respond very swiftly.”
