The Nation’s 50 Governors Are In A Fierce Battle Over COVID-19 But They Can Also Face Sickness Themselves

From the Florida Phoenix:

By Issac Morgan

August 6, 2020

The nation’s 50 governors have been in the forefront of the battle over COVID-19, under pressure to eradicate the disease but also cautious about getting ill themselves.

Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis appears to have dodged the disease thus far, but another of the nation’s state governors has become infected with the new coronavirus.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s office reported his positive test result for COVID-19 on Thursday, making him the second governor in the United States to test positive for the virus.

Earlier, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt was the first governor to test positive for coronavirus, said James Nash, press secretary for the National Governors Association. His result came last month.

Given the intense workload on the part of governors and the nature of COVID-19, the chief executives of states around the country are likely to be concerned about becoming ill.

DeSantis said last week that he took a COVID-19 rapid test while at the White House in July, where he had joined Trump in a signing ceremony for executive orders on health care, including one that allows importation of prescription drugs from Canada.

“I was tested for COVID on Friday [July 31] at the White House. So anytime you’re going to be in earshot of the president, they have a rapid test,” DeSantis said during a roundtable discussion about COVID at AdventHealth Orlando.

DeSantis didn’t reveal his results, but a spokesman hinted at a favorable result. “Well, he attended the event at the White House, so I think it’s safe to say he was negative,” communications director Fred Piccolo said in an email to the Florida Phoenix at the time.

DeSantis’ communications staff has yet to respond to a request for comment from the Phoenix on Thursday to follow up on the governor’s COVID test results.

That can become an issue with constituents — when communication is slow and residents would like to know what’s going on with their governor.

In Ohio, DeWine, 73, underwent a “routine test Thursday morning before meeting President Donald Trump in Northern Ohio,” Phoenix affiliate the Ohio Capitol Journal reported. The Republican governor received condolences via Twitter from many state lawmakers from both political parties.

Polls and surveys show that even governors who haven’t gotten sick have suffered politically during the pandemic.

DeWine remains popular, with a recent poll putting his approval rating at 75 percent, as previously reported by the Phoenix.

DeSantis’ approval rating dropped to 41 percent compared to his previous approval rating of 53 percent, according to a Quinnipiac Poll. A subsequent Mason-Dixon Florida Poll registered a 17-point fall in the governor’s approval rating, from 62 percent in March 2019, shortly after he took office, to 45 percent now.

Florida Phoenix deputy editor Mike Moline contributed to this report.

This story was originally published by the Florida Phoenix. For more stories from the Florida Phoenix, visit FloridaPhoenix.com.