Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Monday suspending local COVID-19 emergency orders in the state and banning “vaccine passports.”
He also signed …
Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Monday suspending local COVID-19 emergency orders in the state and banning “vaccine passports.” He also signed an executive order immediately lifting the local emergency orders to bridge the gap between now and when the bill takes effect on July 1. DeSantis said the move is “the evidence-based thing to do.” “I think folks that are saying that they need to be policing people at this point, if you’re saying that, you really are saying you don’t believe in the vaccines, you don’t believe in the data, you don’t believe in the science,” DeSantis said. “We’ve embraced the vaccines. We’ve embraced the science on it.” The governor pointed out that the suspension affects only government-mandated orders. It won’t affect how businesses such as supermarkets or Disney theme parks enforce coronavirus restrictions. “It’s simply emergency orders and emergency penalties on individual businesses,” he said. He explained that the bill “ensures that neither the state or local governments can close businesses or keep kids out of in-personal instruction unless they satisfy a demanding and continuous justification.” DeSantis previous issued an executive order banning “vaccine passports,” “You have a right to participate in society, go to a restaurant, movie, a ballgame, all these things without having to divulge this type of information,” DeSantis said.
