More than 3 years later, U.S. COVID emergency ends

WASHINGTON, D.C. (FLV) – More than three years after former President Donald Trump declared a national emergency over the spread of COVID-19, President Joe Biden signed off on ending that proclamation.

The House of Representatives, which has a Republican majority, earlier this year moved to end the public health emergency. The push occurred in the face of the Biden administration’s stated intentions to prolong it until May.

The House voted 229-197 in February to end the emergency. In late March, the Senate approved of ending the emergency by a 68-23 vote.

Trump originally signed the emergency proclamation on March 13, 2020. Biden ended the emergency April 10, 2023.

The president’s actions mark the end of an approximately 1,123 day national emergency.

The Biden administration received criticism late 2022 for backtracking on the president’s comments that the “pandemic is over.”

Then-chief medical advisor to Biden, Dr. Anthony Fauci, afterward said the president’s comments were “problematic.”

“It’s obvious that could be problematic because people would interpret it as it’s completely over and we’re done for good, which is not the case — no doubt about that,” he said.

Did DeSantis ‘unapologetically shut down Florida and its beaches?’

Gov. Ron DeSantis has long-pushed and emphasized that Florida remain open not long after the virus became known to authorities.

Some Florida counties closed their beaches for a short period of time around April 2020, when COVID-19 broke out nationwide.

DeSantis took intense media fire in March 2020 when reports surfaced of people “PACKED” at Clearwater Beach “despite ‘social distancing’ recommendations.”

On March 20, 2020, DeSantis signed Executive Order 20-70 to close down businesses and beaches in Broward and Palm Beach County.

DeSantis said the order was based on recommendations from local officials, but also Trump’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

“That’s based off the recommendations of local officials but also the CDC recommendations, that when you do have community spread, then there’s additional items that should be on the list,” he said. “Southeast Florida is the epicenter of what we’re fighting in Florida, so we want to work constructively with the local folks.”

More recently, DeSantis has said one of his regrets included “not opposing Trump Administration’s lockdown calls.”

On April 1, 2020, DeSantis issued the “Safer at Home” Executive Order 20-91 which permitted outdoor recreational activities such as visiting the beach and attending worship services, along with “essential activities.”

In his order, he cited the “efforts of President Trump and the White House Coronavirus Task Force to fight COVID-19” as rationale for some of the guidelines laid out, such as limiting movement unless necessary for “essential services” or “essential activities.”

The order lasted for one month.

Schools ended up being reopened to in-person learning for the fall 2020 semester.

On DeSantis’ plans to begin reopening in April 2020, Trump said he would “overrule the governor, and I have that right to do it.”

“He hasn’t said he’s going to, but he’s thinking about it, so I’ll take a look at it,” Trump said.

Florida began its reopening process May 4, 2020, being one of the first states to reopen retail businesses and restaurants.

DeSantis signed Executive Order 20-139 for June 5, 2020, to reopen movie teachers, gyms, and other businesses.

Not long after the move, the Trump administration slammed DeSantis’ reopening efforts, saying they came “too quickly.”

“There are some times when despite the guidelines and the recommendations to open up carefully and prudently, some states skipped over those and just opened up too quickly,” Fauci said.

“Certainly Florida I know, you know, I think jumped over a couple of checkpoints.”