It's crazy in Florida. A million tests go to waste.
It is January in Chicago.
I’m hearing from friends back home that the sidewalks are treacherous this morning although the main streets are salted.
I say that I’m hearing this because I’m not there.
Anne and I flew down to Sarasota, Florida on Thursday. It will be a temporary escape to the beach at Siesta Key and the Key Lime Pie at Casey Key.
The skies are blue. The high will be 81 degrees today.
The bad news is we fly home on Monday.
While in Florida we are following all the Covid protocols.
We are triple vaxxed. We avoid crowds and keep distant. We wear a N95 mask when out and about.
In Florida, home of Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, few locals wear masks.
DeSantis is expected to run for president on the Republican ticket. He has a good chance, especially if Trump is on trial or behind bars.
I have less and less expectation that Trump will ever see jail time, but who knows?
DeSantis has opposed any attempts to control the spread of Covid.
This is including access to testing.
DeSantis and the state's top emergency management official confirmed Thursday that 800,000 to 1 million COVID test kits in the state's stockpile recently expired without being used.
At a Thursday news conference, Kevin Guthrie, the director of Florida's Division of Emergency Management, told reporters when asked about the state's stockpile: "We had between 800,000 and a million test kits, Abbott rapid test kits, in our warehouse that did expire."
This has nothing to do with the Florida public’s demand for tests.
Floridians want access to tests.
Reports from around the state are that people are waiting in line for hours to be tested.
With the news reporting DeSantis test stockpiling, the Governor said Thursday the state will start shipping about 1 million at-home tests to nursing homes and assisted living facilities, with the kits set to arrive over the weekend.
However, the kits expired on Christmas.
DeSantis is calling his program to ship expired tests to nursing homes, “Seniors First.”