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Gov. DeSantis says he will not place Florida on a second lockdown

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Florida Gov Ron DeSantis

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has vowed to not place the state on a second lockdown or issue a statewide mask mandate, despite many other states who have reinstated restrictions following COVID-19 surges.

On Sunday, Florida reported 10,000 new cases, the largest number of cases in a single day since the peak over the summer.

In response to the Sunday report, DeSantis’ Director of Communications, Fred Piccolo Jr., emphasized that there was an increase in testing.

“Almost 150,000 Covid tests yesterday. 7.5% positivity rate. Still under 10%. Washing hands. Social distancing. Protect the elderly. Don’t lockdown. Keep calm and carry on,” Piccolo wrote on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/FredPiccoloJr/status/1328102298367778816

A spokesperson for Governor DeSantis told CBS12 News that the Governor will not lockdown and hurt families who can not afford to shelter-in-place for six weeks.

“Especially not for a virus that has a 99.8% survival rate,” the spokesperson said. “One area of concern is Assisted Living Facilities. Since those over 70 face the greatest threat, the Governor is monitoring those numbers daily and is prepared to move therapeutic and prophylactic assets to those facilities as needed.”

At the end of September, DeSantis moved all of the state into Phase 3 of re-opening, which eliminated COVID-related business closures and capacity limitations.

His order made county-wide mask mandates unenforceable, by eliminating fines associated with them.

The state has seen a steady increase in cases and positivity rates since re-opening.

Overall, 56,907 people in the county have been diagnosed with the virus since the pandemic began.

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Pope Francis calls for universal ban on ‘so-called surrogate motherhood’

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Screen Shot 2023 12 18 at 10.42.31 AM

Pope Francis called for a universal ban on surrogacy, likening the practice as an unborn child “turned into an object of trafficking.”

“I consider despicable the practice of so-called surrogate motherhood, which represents a grave violation of the dignity of the woman and the child, based on the exploitation of situations of the mother’s material needs,” Francis said in a speech to the Holy See on Monday.

The “uterus for rent” process, as Francis has called it, was estimated to bring in $14 billion in the U.S. in 2022, and is projected to grow to a $129 billion market by 2032. National Review reports Individual surrogacies can cost anywhere from $60,000 to $200,000 plus in the U.S. Rising infertility rates, an increase in the number of fertility clinics, and “sedentary lifestyles” contribute to surrogacy’s recent popularity, according to Global Market Insights.

“A child is always a gift and never the basis of a commercial contract,” Francis continued. “Consequently, I express my hope for an effort by the international community to prohibit this practice universally.”

Surrogacy is already banned in many European countries. In the United States, commercial surrogacy, or for-profit surrogacy, is legal in some states, and the practice has been used by celebrities who are very public with their decision to use surrogacy.

Altruistic surrogacy, the method by which a woman carries another person’s child for no official compensation, is legal in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, South Africa, Greece, and Iceland, according to the National Institutes of Health.

The speech was about threats to peace and human dignity. “A child is always a gift and never the basis of a commercial contract,” Francis continued. “Consequently, I express my hope for an effort by the international community to prohibit this practice universally.”

Francis also listed Russia’s war on Ukraine, the Israel-Hamas war, climate change, and increased weapons production as great threats to peace on Monday.

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