Politician who voted against compulsory masks now critically ill with coronavirus

Paul Waldron, a commissioner for St Johns County in Florida, is in the 'most critical of conditions'

A politician who voted against mandatory face masks is currently hospitalized and critically ill with cornavirus.

Paul Waldron, a commissioner for St Johns County in Florida, was in the ‘most critical of conditions’ and because of ‘complications from the virus, he went into septic shock and many organs are struggling,’ his daughter wrote on Facebook last week.

‘The hospital is working hard to keep him comfortable and continuously monitoring him. His blood gas levels have improved today and his numbers are holding,’ she wrote in a follow-up on Friday.

The news of Waldron’s hospitalization comes after he voted against a countwide order requiring all residents to wear masks.

However, according to News 4 Jax, Waldron was not ‘necessarily opposed’ to the requirement, he just wanted clarification on what types of masks were required and whether the county could supply enough masks for people entering government buildings. He was one of three commissioners who voted against the mask mandate.

‘We are aware of Commissioner Waldron’s situation and are praying for his health and his family,’ St Johns County Administrator Hunter Conrad said in a statement.

‘We also ask each of you to pray for him and his family during this time.’

Florida has recently become the country’s new coronavirus epicenter and more than 15,000 new cases were announced Saturday, which is the biggest day spike for any state in the US since the outbreak began, including New York, which had a record-high of 12,847 new cases on April 10 when it was the world’s epicenter for the outbreak.

Florida has reported nearly 270,000 total cases of the virus and more than 4,300 deaths, 42 of which were announced on Sunday.

Approximately 10.5% of the more than 2.5 million who have so far been tested in the state have been positive, according to WFLA.

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