Spokesman for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis deactivates Twitter after saying every dead COVID victim should be balanced with 99 photos of survivors
The spokesman for Florida governor Ron DeSantis has left Twitter after he posted an insensitive message in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
A search for the account of Fred Piccolo Jr. currently comes up empty on the social media site.
The deactivation of his account comes after he tweeted, 'I'm wondering since 99%. Of Covid patients survive shouldn't you have 99 photos of survivors for every one fatality? Otherwise you're just trying to create a narrative that is not reality.'
The tweet was deleted prior to the account disappearing from the website.
Before it was deleted, however, it was captured in a screenshot by WLRN reporter Danny Rivero.
Fred Piccolo Jr. is off of Twitter after tweeting his latest controversial COVID-19 opinion
Before he deleted his account, a reporter took a screenshot of the tweet in question
Piccolo's tweet came in response to one by North America Editor for Reuters Pictures Corinne Perkins, who tweeted a thread of COVID-19 images.
'I’ve made people far angrier with other things in the past, this is just an observation that I think was worthy of consternation,' Piccolo said to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel before deleting his account.
'But I said this was going to be my Christmas gift to myself to get off of the medium, so I said let’s do it.'
It was in response to this tweet by Reuters Editor Corinne Perkins
Piccolo has served as the spokesman for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis since July
This is not the first time Piccolo has run into trouble for what he has posted on Twitter, which he was not using as an official account for the governor.
The Sun-Sentinel previously reported that Piccolo has posted false or misleading information on his Twitter account for months.
In October, Piccolo tweeted about how a majority of people who contracted COVID-19 in one study wore masks, a misleading takeaway from the study.
DeSantis has received a lot of heat for his response to the coronavirus pandemic
Meanwhile, his top communications aide has come up with many controversial takes
In another tweet, he cited bias about a study in Kansas that showed the spread slowed with mask restrictions in place.
He has also claimed on Twitter that the coronavirus is less deadly than the flu, a common and false refrain among those who deny the seriousness of COVID-19.
'He’s responsible for the communication message of the governor,' said Daniel Uhlfelder, an attorney who previously filed a lawsuit against the governor in regards to his lack of action on close public spaces.
'And he’s mocking or downplaying the deaths. It’s just inexcusable. I don’t know how you justify that. ... This is not a game. These are people that are suffering and dying.'
Piccolo has been in his role as spokesman for the governor since July.
Over 21,000 Floridians have been killed by the coronavirus under DeSantis' watch
Florida's response to the coronavirus has been controversial from the start, with DeSantis repeatedly refusing to implement tighter restrictions as the pandemic raged around the state.
The new numbers reported by the state on Sunday included 7,391 new confirmed cases, bringing the number over 1.27 million. There were also 77 new deaths for a total of 21,211 in the state so far.
There has also been a dispute involving the accuracy of the reported numbers led by Rebekah Jones, who previously served as the data manager for the state's coronavirus response before being fired in May.
She has since tried to argue that Florida is misleading the public with their reported numbers, which has led to run-ins with the law, including a raid on her home three weeks ago.
According to NBC Miami, Jones filed a lawsuit against the Florida Department of Law of Enforcement last week for the raid, which she argued violated her right to free speech.
In the United States, the coronavirus has afflicted over 19.2 million people, with the death toll currently at more than 333,000 people.
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