I know some people were tearing their hair out watching scores of Floridians hit the beaches amid a Wuhan coronavirus outbreak. And yes, more than a few of these college spring breakers contracted the Wuhan virus. But tens of thousands went home and potentially spread the disease to their local communities. It’s staggering—and explains the rapid spread of not just this virus, but any virus in the modern era.
Floridian Gov. Ron DeSantis has been slammed for his inaction in tackling this outbreak, but he is issuing a stay-at-home order for South Florida (via Miami Herald):
At a press conference at the drive-thru testing site at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens on Monday, DeSantis announced he would be signing an executive order urging those in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe Counties to stay home through “mid-May.”
His order sets in stone what many South Florida communities have already done to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus.
[…]
As of Monday morning, the four counties made up 59% of the total positive novel coronavirus cases in the state.
The “safer at home” language comes from Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez’s order last week for residents to leave home only for essential work or to pick up food and medication.
Broward County has also ordered residents to stay at home, as have several municipalities in the area. Local governments have also established curfews, fines and other measures to keep people at home. Orange County, which is not affected by the order, has also implemented similar orders.
Maryland, Washington, D.C., Delaware, Virginia, California, and now Arizona have all issued stay-at-home orders to their residents in an effort to combat the spread of the Wuhan virus.