Republican Gov. DeSantis moved to open his states beaches and then retail earlier that a lot of people would like…
He took abuse for it….
Especially since the state has a good amount of older retirees …
But the state’s case and fatality numbers have NOT spiked up…
And?
Everything in the state is NOT back to pre-virus ‘normal’….
Florida has reported 37,439 positive coronavirus cases and 1,471 deaths, ranking it eighth in the U.S. for the number of confirmed cases despite being the nation’s third most populated state.
The case and death numbers point to something many may find surprising: Florida has not become as much of a hot spot as other states such as New York, California and Michigan.
The state has fewer cases per capita than other heavily impacted states, such as Louisiana. According to Johns Hopkins University, Florida has had a total of 176 cases per 100,000 people compared to Louisiana, which has had 644 per 100,000 people.
Most of the Sunshine State entered its first phase of reopening on Monday, with restaurants, retail stores and museums allowed to operate at no more 25 percent capacity with social distancing restrictions.
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who took criticism last month for his initial reluctance to issue a statewide stay-at-home order, touted the progress his state has made in a press conference on Tuesday.
“The fact of the matter is, Florida has met all the gating criteria to be into phase one,” DeSantis said at a press briefing on Tuesday.
Experts say there are a variety of reasons, including individual willingness to self-quarantine, that could explain why the state appears to have avoided being hit harder by the virus.
The state’s most populated counties in South Florida, as well as Orange County, home to the greater Orlando area, were under stay-at-home orders prior to the governor’s statewide order issued on April 1.
Early actions from local governments could have contributed to stopping the spread of the virus in the state, according to government and health officials….