A rigged debate on when and how Florida re-opens | Editorial

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ task force on re-opening Florida appears to be rigged to reach a foregone conclusion on easing stay-at-home orders even as coronavirus cases and deaths continue to rise. Stacking the deck will undermine the credibility of the task force’s recommendations, which are certain to be challenged by health care experts and local government officials. It’s an unfortunate miscalculation by the governor, because he and his task force are asking the right question: How and when can Florida start to re-open and still limit the spread of the virus?

The task force resumed its discussion Tuesday with DeSantis urging its members to "think in more practical terms'' about how to re-open businesses while managing the health risks. There would be more public confidence in how the governor intends to strike that balance if there were more balance on his task force. Incredibly, there are no doctors on the panel. There is just one hospital executive, Tampa General CEO John Couris. There are no mayors or county commissioners from outside South Florida. The only Democrat on the three-member state Cabinet, Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, was excluded. There are four Republican legislative leaders but no Democratic lawmakers. With the lives of Floridians and the entire economy of the state at stake, how to proceed in a pandemic should not be a partisan issue or decided by big business interests alone.

Yet the task force is dominated by the usual suspects: Republican lawmakers and Cabinet members, the Florida Chamber of Commerce, the bankers’ association, Florida Power & Light and AT&T, Disney and Universal. Where are the doctors? Where are the small business owners? Where are the voices of African Americans, who are disproportionately affected by the virus? The governor’s chief of staff said Tuesday there are other working groups, but the reality is the task force’s "executive committee'' will be making the recommendation to the governor.

It’s clear where this is going. DeSantis has been in virtual lock-step with President Donald Trump, who values re-opening the economy over public health. The governor’s task force makes its recommendations Friday, and DeSantis’ stay-at-home order expires April 30. So the task force’s report will give the governor cover to start making changes next week, regardless of warnings from health care experts and mayors that it would be too soon to relax stay-at-home orders.

With more than 27,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and more than 880 related deaths, it is not clear Florida is positioned for any significant weakening of the current restrictions. Tampa Mayor Jane Castor and St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman are not headed in that direction. Dr. Charles Lockwood, dean of the Morsani College of Medicine at the University of South Florida, writes that Hillsborough County is making progress but still three to four weeks away from having the testing, monitoring of hot spots and other necessary conditions in place to begin to re-open.

DeSantis has been on target with his broadest observations: South Florida is not the same as Tampa Bay, which is not the same as the Panhandle. It cannot be an all-or-nothing choice between public health and economic health. And the current stay-at-home situation is not sustainable in the long term for families or businesses.

Here are some sober economic realities: The state has approved just over 40,000 of more than 1.5 million unemployment claims. Federal, state and local loan programs for businesses have met only a fraction of the need. State and local governments are collectively facing billions in deficits. There isn’t enough tax money to meet the need indefinitely.

Here are the public health realities: There still is not enough testing for the coronavirus, with less than 1.5 percent of Floridians tested so far. A vaccine is more than year away. And the short-term goal is not eliminating all risk of getting the virus but limiting the risk so hospitals can treat the most serious cases and not be overwhelmed. So far, the hospitals have been able to free up capacity and are reasonably prepared.

DeSantis should hear from other voices besides his task force as he considers how and when Florida should start to re-open. Listening to more doctors and more mayors would be a good place to start.

Editorials are the institutional voice of the Tampa Bay Times. The members of the Editorial Board are Times Chairman and CEO Paul Tash, Editor of Editorials Tim Nickens, and editorial writers Elizabeth Djinis, John Hill and Jim Verhulst. Follow @TBTimes_Opinion on Twitter for more opinion news