A senior doctor in Florida was asked to leave a meeting with a Democratic state senator after he declined to wear a mask due to the lawmaker having a medical condition.
Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo and two of his aides were told to leave the office of state Sen. Tina Polsky after they were offered masks and refused, Florida Politics reported. Ladapo allegedly offered to move the meeting outside as an alternative.
“I told him I had a serious medical condition,” Polsky said. The senator was diagnosed in August with stage one breast cancer. Polsky told the outlet she tried to ask Ladapo’s reason for refusing the mask and declined the offer to move outside.
Ladapo had requested that he and the senator meet as he prepares to seek reconfirmation in his role as surgeon general for the upcoming session.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have noted that people who have been diagnosed with breast cancer have an increased risk of illness if they contract COVID-19.
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Polsky described Ladapo as acting “smug” during the whole encounter, adding that he just smiled and didn’t reply to her, though she reiterated to him that she had a severe medical condition.
Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on Sept. 21 that he was appointing Dr. Joseph Ladapo, a Nigerian-born immigrant to the United States, to be the surgeon general and secretary of the Florida Department of Health. Ladapo currently serves as a professor at the University of Florida. Prior to this, he was an associate professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles.
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Ladapo shares similar views to DeSantis, who has adamantly opposed mandates on masks and vaccinations, in addition to business lockdowns during the coronavirus pandemic, arguing that these infringe on people’s rights. Florida recently reported a decline in COVID-19 cases, with infections per 100,000 residents dropping by 12 points, a 48% decrease, according to the New York Times coronavirus tracker.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the Florida Department of Health for a comment but did not immediately receive a response.
