The truth is DeSantis did impose some restrictions during the March-May 2020 time frame. Also, he allowed local municipalities in Florida to impose their own rules, which is why we saw most public places such as businesses but also parks and playgrounds closed for months in south Florida.
We have to remember where we were at in March 2020. Thousands of deaths in New York City due to a novel coronavirus. We thought that it would happen in the rest of the country. Thanksfully it did not. But we still took a hit though. 1 million deaths in 2 years (2020-2022). But life goes on.