Florida and California have taken dramatically different approaches to combating the spread of coronavirus – but both states have seen key values improve in recent weeks.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has imposed stricter rules, most recently imposing a state home order on Dec. 3, which lasted until the holiday season.
The order, which was lifted on January 25, went so far as to ban outdoor dining, beauty services and religious services.
In Sunshine State, on the other hand, steps have been taken to ensure that business is kept open.
In September, Gov. Ron DeSantis prevented local municipalities from implementing restrictions that would force restaurants and bars to operate at less than half capacity.
He also signed an executive order preventing companies from facing fines for defying orders related to COVID-19.
DeSantis said on Sunday that the state was “focused on raising people”, while “blocked states” “put people out of business”.
“We did a lot of things we did for COVID, but at the same time, we raised our state, we saved our economy and I think we will be the first to come out of the gate once we are able to put COVID in behind the country, “he told Maria Bartiromo on Sunday Morning Futures.
But despite the two states’ various approaches this winter, they have yielded similar results.
Both states experienced an increase in the number of cases around January 1, with the number of infections declining a few weeks later.
Both now see an average of 200 to 400 cases per million people and have reported declines in the past few days, according to the COVID follow-up project.
Similarly, the two states have seen improvements in hospitalizations.
About a month ago, California reported a rate of 56 hospitalizations per 100,000 population, while Florida had a rate of 35, the data show.
Golden State now has 24 hospitalizations per 100,000 people, while Florida reports about 22, the data show.
California currently leads the nation in the total number of cases, but has almost twice the number of Florida residents.
When the cases are adjusted according to the population, their number is approximately the same.
California has about 8,822 cases per 100,000 people, while Florida has about 8,508 for the same population, the data show.