Governor Ron DeSantis has a bad idea Vaccine passport ban Florida’s cruise industry is stagnant and can cost the state’s tourists costs and jobs.
But obviously that’s fine for DeSantis, as long as he’s earning political points on a Republican basis. His ambitions (another term as governor, and perhaps even the presidency) are once again more important than national interests.
Last month, DeSantis filed a long-term proceeding against the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is trying to force agencies to resume cruises without rules.Legal experts immediately called this a political stunt because the federal government had broad control over port of entry and regulation of international trade. Federal Judge Tampa Now there are cases.
But it’s just a hype from the governor. The real problem is that a law he signed last month prohibits businesses from requiring customers to have a vaccine passport to receive service. The law was passed without a carve-out of the cruise business, which has been closed for COVID since March 2020. As a result, cruise companies that are anxious to reopen are in a difficult position.
CDC Made the way to go For the industry, on June 26, we announced a set of rules permitting ships to sail. Due to rules that recommend but not require vaccines, cruise ships in US ports have at least 98% of their crew and passengers. 95% of them are vaccinated. There is another option. You can restart the vessel after a two-day test cruise to ensure that the COVID prevention protocol is working without the vaccine.
These are reasonable safety measures (for those who flinch at the memories of a ship full of sick passengers). Some cruise companies require vaccinations for all passengers over the age of 16 and indicate that they may go further.
However, under the new Florida law that comes into force on July 1, cruise companies cannot ask passengers if they are vaccinated. They can be fined $ 5,000 each time they ask a user for proof of vaccination.
All of this put DeSantis on a clash with the cruise industry. A strange place for Republicans Those who claim to be a professional business.
Still, there was a governor on Thursday who held a press conference in Key Biscayne, diverting attention from his bad laws and trying to blame the CDC for not resuming the cruise.
“Who is suing the CDC to open the port?” He said. “Under current Florida law, they can absolutely do it … The problem with this has always been the CDC.”
We are used to the governor’s grandstand. But this time, his political attitude is hurting the general public. Prior to the stagnation of the cruise industry, approximately 60,000 South Floridians worked for and supported cruise companies. Today, many people are reducing their working hours or losing their jobs altogether.
The cruise industry wants to get back to work. CDC is not an issue here. The well-thought-out vaccine passport method is.