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That is why the corona virus has spread so much in Florida

“How many students have to die?”: A teacher protests the Florida government’s easing plan. Accordingly, all public schools should reopen in August – even though the number of cases is still rising sharply. Image: keystone

For these 4 reasons, the coronavirus has gotten out of control in Florida

Around 60,000 new infections in 24 hours set a new record in the United States. Contagions in “Sunshine State” Florida contributed a large part to this number.

The corona virus hit Florida with full force. At least 56 intensive care units in Florida’s hospitals are full. Another 35 still have 10% or less capacity, reports the local health agency.

Daily positive test in Florida

Image: watson

A total of 200,000 people in the 21 million state of Florida have already tested positive. In the past few days, more than 10,000 new infections have been added. As an approximate classification: it would be as if there were 3,000 new infections per day in Switzerland.

Deaths also increased slightly – however, as is well known, this curve lags behind infections for a few days. Nearly 3800 people died in Florida as a result of Covid-19.

Daily Florida deaths

Image: watson

Informed too late about danger

Donald Trump praised Florida for a long time for its easy handling of the new corona virus. The comparatively few infections in April initially seemed to prove him right.

On top of that comes the fact that the Republican electorate mainly gets information from Fox News, which is actually President Trump’s mouthpiece. There, too, the virus was played down for a long time. The risk of the virus and the effects it can have on the health system (or has meanwhile become so) were recognized too late by many people in Florida.

Impudent government

Republican governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, a big supporter of Donald Trump, is blowing the same horn. Like the President himself, he initially downplayed the new type of corona virus and clearly underestimated the situation.

For a correspondingly long time he also refused to impose a general curfew on Florida. He also left any local access restrictions for old people’s homes to the local mayors.

It was not until the beginning of April, when national pressure became high enough, that he officially recommended that his fellow citizens stay at home if possible. As one of the last states in the country, Florida also had a lockdown from April 2, 2020. The first easing was announced at the beginning of May.

Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida. Image: keystone

The behavior of DeSantis is also the same as that of the President when it comes to masking. You never see both of them, so to speak. DeSantis officially recommends wearing masks, but does not enforce them with a mandatory. “We’ll trust people to make good decisions about masks,” he said at a press conference.

Spring Break puzzles

While Europe closed all borders in mid-March and instructed people to stay at home, a party started in Florida for thousands of college students from across the country. They all traveled to the beaches in Miami and Fort Lauderdale for the spring break.

This was followed by a worldwide shake of the head and experts anticipated a large corona outbreak in Florida.

Students spend their spring break 2020 on the beach in Miami, Florida. Bild: AP

But nothing happened. Why did Florida get off relatively lightly despite these crowds? Some experts are still puzzling over this. Several reasons – or a mixture of them – are possible.

1st time

It is conceivable that the timing was still relatively early. Although the virus caused a sensation in New York in mid-March, Florida was still in its very early stages. So there may have been too few people infected to start an exponential spread.

2. Personal responsibility

The difficult situation in New York at the time was also followed in Florida. Evaluations of the cell phone data of people from Florida show that many reacted independently early and reduced their mobility by about 50%. In the Greater Miami area, mobility even decreased by 80%.

3. Geographical location and habits

Another explanation could be the geographic location of Florida. Apart from some major cities, the state is less populated. Public transport is also less developed, and the vast majority of people travel by car.

Governor DeSantis felt his strategy was confirmed at the time: “Everyone said in the media that Florida would be like New York or Italy … and that didn’t happen.”

The mild outcome of the “spring break” events may have led many Floridians to underestimate the virus.

Outdated society

Florida is at risk due to its demographics. Around a fifth of the population is over 65 years old and therefore part of the risk group.

The old age is also reflected in the statistics: in April, every fourth casualty in Florida was a resident of a long-term care facility. Towards the end of June, however, the virus caught more and more young people: the median age of all those infected dropped to 37 years.

Governor Ron DeSantis happily blames the lowered median age on the increased test volume. A look at the hospitals says something different: their occupancy rate has increased significantly. «Our hospitals are overcrowded and we are understaffed, it is really terrible», says a nurse of a local hospital.

A queue forms in front of the Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami at the end of June. Image: keystone

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