Gov. Ron DeSantis ‘disappointed’ to see northerners taking shots at Jacksonville’s COVID-19 response

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — During Wednesday afternoon’s press conference comparing Florida’s coronavirus hospitalizations and fatalities to those of other states, Gov. Ron DeSantis expressed his disappointment for how Jacksonville has been treated recently.

The governor shared numbers in his “apples-to-apples” comparison of how each state was doing when it comes to flattening the curve. 

The approach taken was to look at the baseline of each topic per 100,000 people of each state’s population.  And, according to DeSantis, those up north are not producing the same numbers as Duval County.

RELATED: Here's how Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis compares to other governors in pandemic response

According to DeSantis, per 100,000 Duval County is only seeing 6.9 people hospitalized and 1.8 deaths. As opposed to northern states who he says are seeing numbers in the 50s per 100,000 when it comes to hospitalizations and 100 to 15 deaths per 100,000 people. 

That's why the governor says he was disappointed when he saw Jacksonville under fire for their COVID-19 response. For him, the numbers just don't match the backfire. 

“I was really disappointed to see a lot of folks in the Acela corridor taking pot-shots at Jacksonville, you know, a few days ago. Look you can criticize who you want to, but if you’re going to criticize somebody on the COVID-19 response, you should probably check the facts before you do it," DeSantis said. 

RELATED: Doctors: Some Florida beaches are open again, but you shouldn't go

He believes that the county has done a great job flattening the curve and that the trend there has taken a positive turn, furthering his confusion as to why people who "don't have a leg to stand on" would comment on Jacksonville's situation. 

“For those who try to say you’re morons, I’d take you over the folks who are criticizing you any day of the week and twice on Sunday,” DeSantis said referring to the trending hashtag on Twitter this past weekend-- #FloridaMoron. 

The hashtag was drawing tweets from users all across the U.S. mocking, complaining and disapproving of Jacksonville's decision to re-open beaches last week. 

RELATED: Here's what Jacksonville Beach looked like during partial 'reopening' Friday

Overall, DeSantis is pleased with how the state is responding to the coronavirus pandemic, saying per 100,000 people Florida is seeing 10.3 hospitalized, 3.2 in the ICU and reporting four deaths. 

The governor also gave Hillsborough County an honorable mention for its downward trend. Sharing that with 1.4 million residents the county has only reported 18 cases over the last two days. DeSantis also said he sees a similar projection in Pinellas county, calling the two "a good picture," in terms of COVID-19. 

RELATED: Re-open the beaches? Look to Duval County as a ‘model,’ task force member suggests

RELATED: Sarasota County beaches will reopen Monday, with restrictions

RELATED: Beaches in Duval County open while Pinellas remains closed. Why the inconsistency?

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