Screenshot via Governor Ron DeSantis/Facebook
Speaking with reporters in Jacksonville Friday morning, Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis said all restrictions on youth activities have been lifted.
“Effective today, Florida will lift all restrictions on youth activities, including summer camps and athletics,” Governor DeSantis said. “We believe this makes sense based on the data and observed experience.”
DeSantis noted that the Department of Health could come up with some best practices moving forward, but would not institute “many rules or none at all.”
“We think it makes sense based on the data and the observed experience. We’re not going to institute a lot of rules, or really any rules,” DeSantis said. parents to be able to make decisions in collaboration with the doctors.”
DeSantis said today’s decision, which would allow summer camps and sports for Florida youth to begin immediately, would not prevent local governments from setting their own rules.
“Ultimately, we trust parents to be able to make decisions in conjunction with physicians and community leaders and coaches to be able to do these activities in a safe manner,” the governor continued.
While the Republican Governor emphasized that children are much less likely to suffer serious consequences from COVID-19, the state currently has an increasing number of children with “multisystem inflammatory syndrome in childrenor MIS-C. At this time, it is not known how many children currently have the disease related to COVID-19.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, symptoms of MIS-C include fever, rash, swelling of the hands and feet, irritation and redness of the whites of the eyes, swollen lymph nodes in the neck and irritation and inflammation of the mouth, lips and throat.
This is a developing story and we will update it with more information.
Support local journalism in these crazy days. Our small but mighty team is working tirelessly to bring you the latest news on how the coronavirus is affecting Tampa and surrounding areas. Please consider making a one-time or monthly donation to help support our staff. Every little gesture counts.
To follow @cl_tampabay on Twitter for the latest news and views. Also subscribe to our newsletter.
