Rick Scott on Coronavirus Surge in FL: We Can Beat This Without the Government Taking Away Our Rights

Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) on Thursday’s “Fox & Friends” sounded off on the surge of coronavirus cases in Florida after the state reopened its economy.

Scott, the former governor of Florida, noted the importance of wearing a mask and social distancing but pushed back against the government mandating wearing masks and shutting down the economy amid the pandemic.

“I think we ought to stop mandating things and start just giving people good information and start just giving people good information,” Scott said. “That’s what I did when I had hurricanes. People are smart. Give them good information. … Give us information, but you don’t have to tell me to wear a mask, you don’t have to, you know, tell me shut things down. Give me good information.”

He added that Florida and the rest of the United States can defeat COVID-19 without the government taking away the people’s rights.

“You should wear a mask. You should social distance. You should listen and say, oh, that’s where you get sick? I’m not going to go there, but should governments mandate these things? No,” Scott explained.

“Give people information, but we don’t need government to take away our rights, we don’t need government to tell us what to do,” he continued. “And if you’re doing the wrong thing, you’re being selfish. Don’t do that. Don’t go to bars and not wear a mask and social distance. That’s wrong. We’re all in this together. Let’s work together and we can beat this.”

Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent

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