Gov. Ron DeSantis reiterated that masks should be optional at school during a news conference on Tuesday.
“COVID, I view as a very minor risk,” DeSantis said. “RSV is a little more serious and it just shows certain things that are focused on versus not. I’ve had doctors tell me that parents have come in with kids who were sick that have gotten a negative COVID test and a positive RSV and the parents were relived at that.”
READ: What is RSV and why are doctors seeing a spike in cases in children?
The governor said that data shows that fewer kids are getting sick with COVID-19 and they are more likely to get respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, than COVID-19.
Several states, including Florida, have seen sharp increases in hospitalizations for the disease over the past month, leading the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to issue a health advisory warning that RVS is spreading in some Southern states.
READ: Officials confirm “Delta Plus” variant found in Seminole County wastewater
The governor did not address any of the penalties schools who don’t follow the ban on mask mandates could face.
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Under the governor’s order, the state could hold back funding for districts who make students wear masks.