A Florida official who oversees the state’s response to the pandemic confirmed on Monday that he would resign, saying he wants to spend more time with his family.
Jared Moskowitz, director of the Florida Emergency Management Division, told USA Today, however, that his “departure will not be imminent”.
He refused to give a deadline until the governor of Florida Ron DeSantis
Ron DeSantisSunday shows the preview: Lawmakers evaluate Trump’s impeachment trial; Biden administration reviews schedule for mass vaccinations White House: ‘No decision’ made on domestic travel restrictions DeSantis defends unmasked crowds after corsaires’ victory amid concerns over COVID-19 MORE (R) makes a formal announcement, scheduled for Tuesday.
“My children are 7 and 4 years old. When I started this job, they were 5 and 2 years old, ”Moskowitz told USA Today’s Florida Capital Bureau. “I have been in this job for 50 percent of my young person’s life.”
DeSantis confirmed Moskowitz’s planned departure, while praising his work, when asked about it during a news conference.
“He worked incredibly hard,” he said. “He did a fantastic job.”
The governor said Deputy Director of Emergency Management Kevin Guthrie will replace Moskowitz “when Jared is ready to leave”.
Florida Politics first reported Moskowitz’s resignation in a text message news alert, according to the Tallahassee Democrat.
DeSantis chose Moskowitz to lead the Emergency Management Division after he served in the state’s House of Representatives from 2012 to 2019.
The division deals with responding to hurricanes that often hit the state, but last year, Moskowitz faced a different challenge in the pandemic COVID-19.
He was more active than the governor in promoting social distance and wearing masks, including changing his name on Twitter to “Jared MASKowitz”.
As a director, he also organized responses to hurricanes Dorian, Isaias, Laura and Sally.
Florida has documented more than 1.4 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 29,275 deaths since the pandemic began. Cases increased in the Sunshine State last summer and early January, along with the rest of the country, according to the COVID Tracking Project.