FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Over the past week, questions have been swirling surrounding Gov. Ron DeSantis' whereabouts during Florida's most recent surge of COVID-19 cases.
And on Monday, he shut down any rumors by telling the public exactly where he's been.
"It's true on Wednesday there was nothing on the calendar, so I think they're like 'oh my god, he's on vacation'...and I just looked at my wife and I go, 'going to the hospital with you is not a vacation for you, I know that,'" DeSantis said during a news conference in Fort Lauderdale.
He went on to explain that he's accompanied his wife Casey to all of her chemotherapy treatments since she was diagnosed with breast cancer in October.
"This is something that as a husband I think that I should be doing," the governor continued.
Perhaps the most vocal criticism for DeSantis came from Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, who has blasted the governor for not doing more to address the new rapidly-spreading omicron COVID variant.
“Our residents, all Florida residents, should be outraged and they should ask the question, ‘Where is our state? Where is our governor? Where is Ron DeSantis now?’ When is the last time you saw the governor do a press briefing on COVID-19?” Demings questioned.
He said that the state was not helping local governments in their response to the extremely contagious variant, especially given the restrictions that DeSantis placed on actions that can be taken by local governments to combat the spread of the virus.
The mayor's wife, Val Demings, is challenging Republican Sen. Marco Rubio for his US Senate seat in this year's election.
Gov. DeSantis on Monday did give some insight into the first lady's progress with her treatment.
"She's committed to not being in the fetal position the whole time and, you know, she's not through with it but she's almost through with it and I think she's gonna end up good on the other end of it. But, that's just the way she is," the governor said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.