Pro-vaccine and mask mandate AOC is seen dining maskless in Miami

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the face of progressive Democrats in Congress, appeared fine with having a maskless meal in Miami Beach, Florida, on Thursday, despite staunchly supporting mask and vaccine mandates that the state is known to forego.

The 'Squad' member shared a drink and a laugh with an unknown dining guest at Doraku Sushi and Izakaya, according to photos shared by the National Review.

Ocasio-Cortez was dragged on Twitter by conservatives joking about her strict stance on COVID protocols, including a Twitter account devoted to and endorsed by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, which invited her to 'enjoy a taste of freedom' in the Sunshine State.

'Welcome to Florida, AOC! We hope you're enjoying a taste of freedom here in the Sunshine State thanks to @RonDeSantisFL's leadership,' the tweet, by the Team DeSantis account, read.

'P.S. We recommend the Rock Shrimp Roll and the Aoki Tai the next time you decide to dine in Miami. Cheers!,' read a follow up tweet.

Other branded the hypocrisy in her flouting her own COVID rules. 'You're being played by @AOC dummies,' Kyle Becker, who runs the conservative site Becker News, claimed.

'Hey @AOC tell me you endorse @RonDeSantisFL without telling me you endorse @RonDeSantisFL,' wrote Shawn Farash, who runs the conservative group Long Island Loud Majority.

Ocasio-Cortez voyaged to Florida as her home in New York City struggles with a surge in COVID cases causing a record number of first responders to call in sick. Over 20% of the city's police officers and 30% of paramedics were out sick Thursday, city officials told Fox News.

The city has no plans to drop its COVID protocols as incoming New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who will be sworn in Saturday, announced Thursday his plans to keep in place many of outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio's restrictions, including a vaccination mandate for entering local businesses.

New York has also been smashing COVID records, breaking one for the second day in a row with more than 74,000 new cases Thursday, according to WNBC-TV of New York City.

Hospitalizations also continued to increase in the Empire State, reaching more than 7,300, the report said. The number of ICU patients in New York rose to more than 1,000 on Thursday, breaking that mark for the first time since March, the station added.