Florida 's attorney general Ashley Moody announced that she tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday just four days after she flew to ...
Florida's attorney general Ashley Moody announced that she tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday just four days after she flew to Texas to visit the Mexico border with Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Moody, a Republican, was vaccinated against the virus earlier this year and said she is only experiencing mild symptoms in her statement posted to Twitter.
'I received a COVID-19 vaccine earlier this year and today tested positive for the virus. Thankfully, I am only experiencing mild symptoms and my family is in good health,' Moody, 46, tweeted.
'As I continue to self-quarantine, I want to encourage Floridians to be vigilant about their health.'
Florida's attorney general Ashley Moody, right, announced that she tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday just four days after she flew to Texas to visit the Mexico border
Moody, a Republican, was vaccinated against the virus earlier this year and said she is only experiencing mild symptoms in her statement posted to Twitter.
Moody and Gov. Ron DeSantis visited Texas for a press conference with Gov. Greg Abbott about border security
Moody had traveled on a government plane with DeSantis and Wilton Simpson, the president of the Florida Senate, to the border town of Del Rio on July 17 for a press conference about border security with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican.
While there, Moody interacted with a number of Texas officials, including Texas' embattled AG Ken Paxton.
DeSantis, who received a COVID-19 vaccine earlier this year, has not yet addressed the news of Moody's positive test.
He attended a town hall about protests in Cuba with Sen. Marco Rubio and Fox News host Sean Hannity on Wednesday night where nobody was masked or social distancing, the Miami Herald reported.
Meanwhile, Simpson tested positive for COVID-19 last December and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is vaccinated.
DeSantis has continued to rally against preventative measures against the spread of the virus even as another wave of the coronavirus grips his state.
According to data from the CDC, Florida now leads the nation in the latest seven-day figures for COVID case numbers.
There have been 8,988 new cases reported in Florida with 56,746 total cases reported in the last seven days. Florida has seen a total of 2,439,814 cases throughout the pandemic.
Last week, a federal court voted to stay a judge's decision ruling that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cannot enforce COVID cruise ship rules after July 18.
The CDC win came after the state of Florida had sued the agency claiming that its restrictions on the cruise industry during the pandemic effectively blocked most cruises - harming the state's livelihood.
Earlier this month, the CDC asked a federal appeals court to U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday's June 18 ruling on hold after he ruled in favor of Florida.
The CDC first flatly halted cruise ships from sailing in March 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic, which had affected passengers and crew on numerous ships.
Then the CDC imposed a four-phase conditional framework on October 30 that it said would allow the industry to gradually resume operations if certain thresholds were met.
Judge Merryday wrote in a 124-page decision last month that Florida would be harmed if the CDC order, which the state said effectively blocked most cruises, were to continue.
The Tampa-based judge granted a preliminary injunction that prevented the CDC from enforcing the order pending further legal action on a broader Florida lawsuit.
'This order finds that Florida is highly likely to prevail on the merits of the claim that CDC's conditional sailing order and the implementing orders exceed the authority delegated to the CDC,' Merryday wrote.
Merryday's decision had meant the CDC could not enforce those rules for Florida-based ships and that they would merely be considered nonbinding recommendations or guidelines - but delayed the effect of his order until July 18.
DeSantis said in a statement after Merryday's ruling that framework imposed onerous bureaucratic requirements on the industry.
Last week, a federal court voted to stay a judge's decision ruling that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cannot enforce COVID cruise ship rules after July 18
He condemned such requirements including a 'vaccine passport' for passengers and that cruise ships conduct a simulated voyage before embarking passengers.
'The CDC has been wrong all along, and they knew it,' DeSantis said.
Moody also praised the decision in a statement at the time of Merryday's ruling.
'Today's ruling is a victory for the hardworking Floridians whose livelihoods depend on the cruise industry,' said Moody.
'The federal government does not, nor should it ever, have the authority to single out and lock down an entire industry indefinitely.'
Cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean have been gearing up to return to sailing under the CDC's four-part framework.
Meanwhile, however, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings - one of the world's largest cruise operators - is suing the state of Florida in a bed to end its ban on vaccine passports - claiming that they help the company sail 'safely and soundly.'
The company claims the ban violates federal law and contradicts rules set out by the CDC, USA Today reported.
'The health and safety of cruise passengers, crew and the communities we visit remains the top priority for CLIA cruise line members,' said Laziza Lambert, spokeswoman for the trade group Cruise Lines International Association.
'Cruise ships are well on their way to offering the traveling public a high level of COVID-19 mitigation.'
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