The Mayor of Miami Seaside rips Ron DeSantis to items as “pied piper” of COVID-19, the main state “off a cliff”

Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber has ripped off Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis as the “pied piper” of COVID-19 who is “leading everyone off a cliff”.

Gelber has blown governor’s opposition to COVID-19 health measures, including masks, despite the state becoming an epicenter of soaring Delta variant COVID-19 cases.

“The governor made it as difficult as possible to keep people safe,” Gelber said on CNN on Saturday. “He’s like the pied piper who’s now leading everyone off a cliff by letting them know they don’t have to like the CDC.” [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]”They don’t have to wear masks so they can do what they want when we’re in the middle of a huge pandemic.”

He spoke as Florida recorded the highest number of COVID cases in a single day since the pandemic began – 21,683, according to federal health data, The Associated Press reported.

On Sunday, it recorded the highest number of COVID hospitalizations in more than a year – 10,207 people with confirmed cases, according to data reported to the U.S. Department of Health. Florida is now the nationwide leader in per capita hospital stays due to COVID-19.

Gelber said city officials would “do whatever it takes to circumvent the governor’s very lopsided wishes.” Even “local Republican mayors are on the same side as me,” he added. “You want to save the lives of the residents.” But DeSantis, driven by “dogma”, “paralyzed” local leaders and even banned local mask mandates, Gelber noted.

“We mustn’t have to wear a mask now,” said Gelber. “We were one of the first cities to ask for this, and we fined just to get people to do it. The governor stopped allowing us to do this, and then we immediately saw a surge in our county and state when he did, ”he noted.

DeSantis signed an executive order on Friday banning schools from mandating masks for all students returning this month, despite rising cases that appear to affect younger people and children. The order was touted as “preserving the freedom of choice for parents”. He said in a statement that “many school children in Florida have suffered from the enforced masking policy.”

DeSantis said at a press conference after signing the order that he would not mask his own young children. “I want to see my children smile. I want them to have fun, ”he said.

Florida is experiencing a surge in pediatric cases of COVID-19. At Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami, 17 children with COVID-19 were admitted on Friday, including six in intensive care and one on a ventilator.

The CDC recommends that students and staff at K-12 schools wear masks in the classroom regardless of their vaccination status.

Check out Gelber’s full interview in the clip above.