‘Off the rails’: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis blasts Australia’s Covid restrictions

One of the United States’ most prominent leaders has ripped into Australia’s coronavirus response, comparing us to “communist China”.

The leader of America’s third-largest state, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, has blasted Australia’s coronavirus restrictions, accusing us of going “off the rails” and comparing us to authoritarian China.

Mr DeSantis, who has been a vocal opponent of lockdowns, mandates and vaccine passports in the United States, brought up Australia’s Covid policies during remarks to the International Boatbuilders Exhibition in Tampa.

“Look what’s going on in Australia right now. They’re enforcing, after a year-and-a-half, lockdowns by the military,” the Republican said.

“That’s not a free country. It’s not a free country at all.

“In fact, I wonder why we would still have the same diplomatic relations when they’re doing that. Is Australia freer than communist China right now? I don’t know. The fact that is even a question tells you something has gone dramatically off the rails with some of this stuff.”

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Picture: Chandan Khanna/AFP

Mr DeSantis, widely seen as a leading contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, boasted that Florida had led the way in opposing restrictions across the US.

For example, his state was among the first to ban private businesses from requiring proof of vaccination from their customers.

“If we had not done that, a lot of these other states wouldn’t have followed,” he said.

“Who knows where we would be right now?”

As it is, the US is not in a great place.

It’s currently in the midst of its fifth wave of Covid, exacerbated by the more infectious Delta variant. The country is averaging 115,000 new infections each day, and 1700 deaths.

To put that in context, the US is recording more deaths every 24 hours than Australia has suffered throughout the entire pandemic.

Florida is among the hardest-hit states. It has racked up a total of 3.6 million cases, and about 17,000 cases per 100,000 residents, placing it well above the national average.

Its death toll stands at 54,000, the fourth-highest in the US behind California, Texas and New York. On a per capita basis, it has the tenth-worst death rate.

Overall, the US has recorded 44 million infections and 711,000 deaths.

Meanwhile, Australia has recorded 101,000 cases and 1256 deaths.

The rolling average of Covid cases per million people in the US and Australia. Picture: Our World In Data

And the rolling average of daily deaths. Picture: Our World In Data

Mr DeSantis has frequently sparred with the White House over his approach to Covid. Things got particularly bitter last month, when Florida broke its previous daily infection record.

“Florida is a free state, and we will empower our people,” the Governor said in one fundraising email to his supporters in August.

“We will not allow Joe Biden and his bureaucratic flunkies to come in and commandeer the rights and freedoms of Floridians.”

Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki hit out at Mr DeSantis for taking “steps that are counter to public health recommendations”, such as banning schools from requiring their students to wear masks.

She urged him to “get out of the way” when it came to fighting Covid.

In response, Mr DeSantis told the President to focus on doing his own job.

“Why don’t you do your job? Why don’t you get this border secure?” he asked, alluding to illegal immigrants arriving at the Mexican border.

“Until you do that, I don’t want to hear a blip about Covid from you, thank you.”

Mr DeSantis’s public musings about America’s “diplomatic relations” with Australia come a week after Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s trip to the US, during which he addressed the UN, attended the Quad leaders’ summit and met with President Joe Biden.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Picture: 7 News

During an appearance on the CBS show Face the Nation, Mr Morrison defended Australia’s Covid policies, including the strict international travel restrictions, saying they had saved tens of thousands of lives.

“It’s around 1200 Australians (who) have lost their lives to Covid. That is what is lost in a day here in the United States,” he said.

“If we had the same rate of fatality of just the OECD nations, on average, more than 30,000 Australians additionally would have passed away.

“And so we took action to save lives. We also took action to save livelihoods. And our economy has come back strongly, even with the restrictions we have in place now.”

The Prime Minister said Australia and the US were “different societies”, and our response to Covid had been “pragmatic”.

“I can tell you, the virus doesn’t care what you believe. The virus cares about how it can come and take your life,” Mr Morrison said.

Originally published as ‘Off the rails’: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis blasts Australia’s Covid restrictions