As counties end the second week of Governor Ron DeSantis’ ‘safe, smart, step-by-step’ policy, the state marks a record high in daily cases

It has been seven weeks since Florida’s governor Ron DeSantis took a coronavirus “victory lap”, pressing ahead with a swift reopening program while berating the media for a “doom and gloom” approach he said bore little relation to reality.

“We haven’t seen an explosion of new cases,” DeSantis insisted during a 29 April news conference, a day on which the state’s Covid-19 tally increased by 347.

Dr Rebekah Jones says she was fired from Department of Health by the governor after protesting order to censor information

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The scientist in charge of Florida’s Covid-19 database was fired on the same day as the state opened up for business.

As sunbathers returned to beaches, and restaurants, movie theaters, gyms and hair salons in almost every county were permitted to open their doors on Monday, the Governor Ron DeSantis’s administration fired Dr Rebekah Jones from the Florida department of health.

Demonstrators rallied outside a courthouse as some pointed out if push-ups can be done outdoors, they can be done anywhere

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We all know about the right to bear arms, the right to free speech … but what about the right to do push-ups?

On Monday, a group of gym-goers assembled outside a courthouse in Clearwater, Florida, waving American flags while doing push-ups and squats on camera. The protesters held up placards saying “Give me gains or give me death” and “We will not comply”.