TAMPA, Fla. — Questions are being raised about whether the White House intentionally failed to publish a report that says Florida and more than a dozen other states should be scaling-back re-opening plans and taking tougher steps to curb COVID-19.
The report, which was prepared for the White House Coronavirus Task Force, was obtained by the non-profit group Center for Public Integrity.
The July 14 report, prepared for the White House Coronavirus Task Force, contains non-publicized recommendations for 18 so-called “red zone” states including Florida, where positivity rates remain above 10 percent.
Similar, previous reports had been made public.
Earlier this week, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, raised concerns about the integrity of information coming from the White House and Tallahassee.
“You’re getting so much misinformation from the top, from President Trump, you have folks at the Department of Health here at the State of Florida kind of hiding a lot of the important data,” she said, “It’s very important that people hear directly from these public health experts and doctors so they can make their own decisions.”
The report says Florida should return to more stringent control measures in counties with rising test percent positivity. That means scaling back from Phase 2.
Suggestions include mandating masks in all counties with rising test percent positivity, keeping bars closed and decreasing indoor dining once again to 25 percent while limiting social gatherings to 10 people or less.
The report to the Coronavirus Task Force also raises concerns about parties and gatherings that took place about two weeks ago on Independence Day.
It recommends all individuals and households engaged in any multi-household July 4 activities should be immediately tested either in pools or as individuals and testing should be scaled up in local communities and multi-generational households as well.
When asked about the report, Gov. DeSantis gave no indication he would move the state back to Phase 1.
Numbers he says, appear to have plateaued and that restaurants are fine when people follow the rules. As for gyms? The governor says they are filled with what he called health-conscious people.
“I think the fact that we’re testing so much has led to case numbers that have been put out there and I think kind of unfairly maligned the state," DeSantis said.
The 18 states that are included in the "red zone" for coronavirus cases in the document are: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Utah.