Florida is the new epicenter of COVID-19.
Here, one writer shares what it’s like living there.
BY EMY RODRIGUEZ FLORES
Jul 12, 2020
Women’s Day – When COVID-19 began ravaging large U.S. cities like New York and Los Angeles in March 2020, I was living in Orlando, Florida.
And while the people living and working in the city were upended, my life remained relatively unchanged. I watched as my friends from around the country were ordered to stay inside. Meanwhile. I carelessly frolicked on white, sandy beaches.
As those with the means to leave their small apartments in densely populated cities contemplated moving to a safer state, I was traveling to Siesta Key and Sanibel Island without a single worry.
It almost felt like Florida was in a bubble, immune to the societal and physical effects of COVID-19.
When the first COVID-19 case hit the United States in January of this year, the state of Florida was unfazed. Even when the virus attacked the east coast a month later, my local government didn’t enact any restrictions.
Aside from Disney World and Universal Studios, every business and attraction remained up and running. The threat of unemployment was seemingly non-existent, and the state did what it does every year and began preparing for a summer season that far too many of us assumed would be busy.
Other states, however, made a serious effort to stop the spread. In Washington, the first pandemic “hot spot,” people were almost immediately advised to stay home and non-essential businesses were closed.
Today, residents are still sheltering in place, practicing social distancing, and wearing face masks in public spaces.
These rules, among others, have helped Washington drop its new case count from almost 1,000 to less than 600 every seven days, according to The New York Times. When the virus took hold of New York, the state went into a complete lockdown … Read more.
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