Covid-19 : divided States of America - L'actualité en anglais

Aux États-Unis, la lutte contre la pandémie de la Covid-19 divise démocrates et républicains. Face aux décisions des scientifiques et aux restrictions qu'elles impliquent, les partisans du président Donald Trump invoquent leurs droits énoncés dans les premier et deuxième amendements de la Constitution américaine. Reportage en Floride et en Louisiane, deux États du sud du pays, où la bataille politique fait rage.

Tensions politiques entre démocrates et ultra-conservateurs face au coronavirus

Some Americans, especially Trump supporters, are reclaiming their constitutional rights – the right to bear arms, freedom of religion or even free movement – thereby undermining the emergency measures issued by the authorities in order to fight against the pandemic.

In Florida, one of the states most affected by Covid-19, its Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, a staunch Trump supporter, has listed exceptions to the « Stay At Home Order. » These include declaring gun stores essential businesses, issuing a decree to authorize religious ceremonies, and letting mayors decide whether to re-open beaches and hotels.

Meanwhile in Louisiana, some pastors are defying the Democratic governor in the name of religious freedom and are continuing to hold ceremonies without social distancing.

Pandémie et garantie des libertés individuelles

Amid this unprecedented health crisis, how to fight the pandemic while respecting the US Constitution, which guarantees individual freedoms ? Is the coronavirus endangering the country ?

Our team reports from the southern states, which have become battlegrounds for these divisions.