‘Please Take Them Off’: Florida’s DeSantis Scolds Masked Students

(Bloomberg) -- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis chided masked students Wednesday at a press conference he called to announce cybersecurity investments at the University of South Florida in Tampa.

“You do not have to wear those masks, I mean, please take them off,” DeSantis said as he approached the lectern, according to a video published on Twitter by WFLA News. “Honestly, it's not doing anything, and we gotta stop with this Covid theater. So if you want to wear it, fine. But this is ridiculous.”

Several students removed their masks, while others wore them anyway.

DeSantis, who shook his head and sighed before starting his speech, has long been critical of mask wearing and the federal response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Public-health experts say masks help slow the spread of the virus. They offer protection from Covid-19 for both the wearer and others, according to the latest guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In areas of low community transmission, the agency says masks can be worn based on “personal preference, informed by your personal level of risk.”

Florida last week issued guidance that advised against wearing face coverings in a community setting.

DeSantis spokeswoman Christina Pushaw said that no pre-event guidance about masks had been sent and pointed out that masks are optional at Florida universities.

“Everyone who attended had the choice,” she said. “We want to make sure all Floridians — especially young people, many of whom have been unduly pressured and coerced by schools and employers to wear masks -- are informed about the lack of evidence for masks.”

A 2021 study by researchers at Stanford University's medical school and Yale University found that wearing a surgical face mask over the mouth and nose reduces occurrence of Covid-19 in community settings.