The coronavirus pandemic can be defeated if the government stops issuing mandates and starts "giving people good information," Sen. Rick Scott, whose state of Florida is recording record coronavirus numbers, said Thursday.
"That's what I did when I had hurricanes," the Florida Republican and former governor said on Fox News' "Fox and Friends." "People are smart. Give them good information. Tell them where there is the spread of the virus, the places they are at risk. If you tell me a restaurant has had patients or employees with coronavirus, I would probably avoid it for a while."
At the federal level, he added, the government should be giving more information about the development of a vaccine and the types of people who are getting sick, and at the state and local level, report where cases are reported.
"Tell us if there is a business or a type of business this is where we are seeing cases. Do you know what? People will avoid it for a while," said Scott. "We need to open our economy. Get people back to work"
In addition, the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have "not been consistent with their message," said Scott. "People are smart. They will make good decisions. Trust them."
Scott also on Thursday encouraged listeners to do "everything they can not to buy from Communist China.
"They have decided to be our adversary," said Scott. "They have built a military to try to dominate us, so take this seriously . . . Amazon, Walmart, tell us where things are being made. You are doing it voluntarily in India. Why don't you do it in this country?"
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.