Irked by the sight of high school students wearing masks at his press conference Wednesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis encouraged them to remove the facial coverings, calling their use “COVID theater.”
“You do not have to wear those masks,” DeSantis said in video captured by WFLA News Channel 8, Tampa’s NBC station. “Please take them off. Honestly, it’s not doing anything. We’ve gotta stop with this COVID theater. So if you wanna wear it, fine, but this is ridiculous.”
DeSantis then shakes his head in apparent frustration before launching into the press conference at the University of South Florida, which he visited to tout $20 million in funding for cybersecurity training. At least two students removed their masks at the governor’s request, according to the video.
The Hillsborough County School District said the students were from Middleton High School in Tampa, Florida.
“As always, our students should be valued and celebrated,” Hillsborough Schools Superintendent Addison Davis said in a statement. “It is a student and parents’ choice to protect their health in a way they feel most appropriate. We are proud of the manner in which our students represented themselves and our school district.”
The governor has outlawed mask mandates in Florida schools. His remarks to the students is evidence of his disdain for even voluntary mask-wearing, and distrust of the science behind it.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new mask guidance last week that no…
