TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Dr. Scott Rivkees, who has overseen the Florida Department of Health during the coronavirus pandemic, will depart state government next month.
Taryn Fenske, a spokesperson for Gov. Ron DeSantis, said in a statement that DeSantis enlisted Rivkees’ help as long as the law allowed.
“We thank him for his meaningful work during the most trying pandemic in our lifetime and we wish him all the success!” Fenske said.
Rivkees was appointed to his post as a part of an employee interchange agreement with the University of Florida, where Rivkees is also employed, in June 2019, Fenske said. DeSantis extended the appointment an extra three months, as is allowed by law. Rivkees’ departure, first reported by Florida Politics, will be Sept. 20, 2021.
Rivkees has not been a major part of the DeSantis administration’s public pandemic messaging efforts since the early days of the outbreak. Last April, the surgeon general was abruptly removed from a news conference after suggesting that Floridians could be forced to socially distance for as long as one year. He’s only appeared in public a handful of times since.
A pediatrician, Rivkees has not appeared at an ongoing trial in which the state is being forced to defend his guidance on masks in schools. Rivkees says parents should have the option in masking their children.
Instead, attorneys representing the state relied their defense on an out-of-state medical expert, Stanford University professor Jay Bhattacharya, who testified he has been an “informal adviser” to the governor since last September.
When he testified in a court hearing over mask mandates, Florida K-12 Chancellor Jacob Oliva on Wednesday said he had “great faith” in Rivkees. He said that when it came to the pandemic and mitigation efforts in schools, the Florida Department of Education relied upon Rivkees and his guidance.
“He’s done a fantastic job giving us guidance, and that is who I am going to rely on giving us that expertise and guidance moving forward,” Oliva said.
A focus in the trial has been a Department of Health rule that says school mask mandates must provide an opt-out for parents. The rule was issued in response to an executive order issued by DeSantis. A parent-led lawsuit contends DeSantis exceeded his authority when directing the department to issue that rule.
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