Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Says Coronavirus Hasn’t Killed Anyone Under 25. It’s Killed Hundreds

The Governor of Florida falsely claimed on Thursday that Coronavirus hasn’t killed anyone under the age of 25. Republican Ron DeSantis made the unfounded claim at an educators’ meeting meant to discuss distance learning during the pandemic.

“This particular pandemic is one where, I don’t think nationwide there’s been a single fatality under 25. For whatever reason it just doesn’t seem to threaten, you know, kids,” DeSantis said.

This is demonstrably false. Hundreds of young people have died as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic in the U.S. alone. Medical experts have repeatedly warned that youth does not protect people from the virus. Though people over 60 are in a higher risk category, that doesn’t mean other groups can’t die from it.

The Governor of Florida — at a #COVID19 education meeting — just falsely claimed there have been no deaths nationwide of people under 25 "for whatever reason."

"The data has been 100% consistent."
"I've not seen any deviation on that."

In reality, there have been hundreds. pic.twitter.com/56UTMuniHD

— Kevin Cate (@KevinCate) April 9, 2020

“And we lose in Florida between five and 10 kids a year for the flu. This one, for whatever reason, much more dangerous if you’re 65 and plus than the flu, no doubt about that, if you’re younger it just hasn’t had an impact. So that should factor into how we’re viewing this,” DeSantis went on.

“I think the data on that has been 100% consistent,” the Republican said. “I’ve not seen any deviation on that.”

Watch Hannity freak out when Alex Berenson — an ex-NYT reporter who's become a Fox favorite of late due to his coronavirus contrarianism — suddenly says "kids, children, anyone under 30 is at no risk to this, no serious risk from this virus." pic.twitter.com/RbtxKcReIn

— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) April 10, 2020

DeSantis was initially reluctant to take containment measures in Florida and took his cues from the White House, which was also slow to react to the severity of the virus.

The Republican’s claim is almost identical to that made by Fox News guest Alex Berenson – who is better known for opining on the evils of marijuana. Speaking to Sean Hannity on Thursday night, Berenson said people under 30 are not at risk. Again, this is false.

Watch the videos above, via Twitter.