'I Was Very Concerned': State Sen. Tina Polsky On Masking Incident Involving Florida's New Surgeon General

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – New details have emerged on the masking incident involving the newly-appointed Florida surgeon general and a state senator.

Dr. Joseph Ladapo was asked to leave a meeting after refusing to wear a mask at the office of State Sen. Tina Polsky, who told him she had a serious medical condition.

After refusing, that's when Polsky said things began to escalate.

"I was very concerned. He was there with two aides, so there were three of them not wearing masks. And it's a very small waiting area in my office, and my office is not very large, either. So before we started doing all of our advocacy and constituent meeting, we set up a system with requiring masks," she said. "So they are all standing around in my waiting room not wearing a mask and it became really uncomfortable and basically a negotiation happening and it went on way too long. "

Polsky was recently diagnosed with breast cancer, but had not made it public.

In an email following the incident, the Department of Health says they will be "addressing this directly with members of the senate, rather than letting this play out publicly."