Federal government sends ventilators to Florida as DeSantis says he’s unaware of shipment

(CNN) — The Biden administration sent hundreds of ventilators to Florida successful caller days arsenic the authorities responds to a melodramatic caller summation successful COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, an authoritative from the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed to CNN. But Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis claims he’s unaware of the shipment.

A wellness medication authoritative confirms the Strategic National Stockpile sent 200 ventilators and 100 high-flow nasal cannula kits to the authorities of Florida “earlier this week.” The SNS sends instrumentality erstwhile it receives requests from states and their wellness departments, according to the official.

Despite that, DeSantis told reporters Tuesday that helium was unaware of the petition for the aesculapian supplies.

“I would honestly uncertainty that that’s true, but I’ll look due to the fact that we person a batch of worldly that we stockpiled implicit the past twelvemonth and a fractional done the Department of Emergency Management,” DeSantis said erstwhile asked by a newsman astir a petition from the authorities for the further supplies.

He continued: “I’ve not had immoderate requests crossed my desk. I person not been notified of that. But they are successful interaction with the hospitals, I’m personally successful interaction with CEOs of a batch of the large hospitals.”

DeSantis’ bureau told CNN Wednesday that the petition did not spell done his office.

“The archetypal helium had heard of it was that reporter’s question to him. I tin besides corroborate that nary 1 successful the Executive Office of the Governor was progressive oregon alert of the request,” Christina Pushaw, DeSantis’ property secretary, said.

NBC News first reported the shipment of instrumentality to Florida.

Florida connected Friday reported 134,506 caller COVID-19 cases implicit the past week, much than immoderate different seven-day play during the pandemic. And the mean fig of caller regular cases successful Florida implicit the past 2 weeks is 107% higher than the anterior two-week period, according to information connected Monday from Johns Hopkins University.

Democrats, including Biden, person taken purpose astatine DeSantis successful caller days aft the politician issued an executive order which directs the Florida Department of Education and the Florida Department of Health to contented exigency rules that springiness parents the powerfulness to choose, whether oregon not, their children deterioration masks successful class, thing the President described arsenic “bad wellness policy.” DeSantis aboriginal defended his bid and changeable backmost astatine Biden, saying: “I’m the politician who answers to the radical of Florida, not to bureaucrats successful Washington.”

The politician besides issued a informing to Biden connected Tuesday aft the President said his medication was looking into whether helium had the statesmanlike authorization to intervene successful the matter. DeSantis said immoderate involution from the national authorities “would beryllium precise inappropriate.”

White House main of unit Ron Klain criticized DeSantis, who is wide seen arsenic a 2024 statesmanlike hopeful, connected Tuesday aft the governor’s bureau said a time earlier that the authorities committee of acquisition could determination to withhold the salaries of superintendents and schoolhouse committee members who disregard his enforcement order.

Biden’s apical adjutant told CNN’s Anderson Cooper connected “AC360” that the politician should “get retired of the mode of the educators who privation to keep their kids safe.”

Klain besides confirmed that the medication is looking into ways to perchance compensate immoderate officials who suffer wage if DeSantis follows done connected his menace to withhold wage from individuals who enact disguise mandates successful schools. The determination would beryllium a important escalation successful the back-and-forth betwixt the White House and DeSantis implicit his effect to the latest surges.