在纽约作为美国COVID-19爆发的最初中心，有迹象表明生命正在恢复正常，因为病例数和死亡率已降至早春以来的最高水平。
相比之下，这种病毒在美国南部和西部的几个州肆虐，推动美国记录每天的病例数，并让美国处于紧张状态，因为那里的领导人在辩论，在某些情况下，还采取行动阻止疫情。
在这两个州之间，也有一些病毒传播相对较少的州，正准备爆发。
那么，为什么一些国家在战斗中取得了成功，而另一些国家却没有呢?
美国广播公司新闻分析了佛罗里达州、得克萨斯州、俄亥俄州和康涅狄格州四个州的现状和重新开放过程，这些州在关闭后出现了不同的结果。
德克萨斯州和佛罗里达州都令人担忧冠状病毒由于许多居民忽视或放弃了社会距离的做法和掩盖，疾病在各州爆发。两者的阳性率(冠状病毒检测呈阳性的百分比)、住院率和死亡率都在全面上升，而且都在过去的周末创下了每日病例的新记录。
周二，德克萨斯州有6533人住院，这是有史以来最多的，佛罗里达州报告了9585例新病例。
在俄亥俄州，病例和住院人数在过去几周一直在增加，但增速低于德克萨斯州和佛罗里达州，死亡人数也在持续下降。由于病例报告方式的不同，在各州之间进行直接比较很复杂，但在俄亥俄州，病例在过去几周内增加了约100%，而在德克萨斯州，病例增加了约150%。在佛罗里达，同期病例增加了近250%。
相比之下，康涅狄格似乎已经控制住了疫情——根据美国广播公司新闻部对该州发布的数据的分析，该州三类疾病的发病率已经下降了两个多月。
专家说，这些州发现自己所处的情况可能部分反映了他们的领导人在大流行期间关闭和重新开放的决定，以及公众在健康危机早期看到的紧急程度。俄亥俄州和康涅狄格州的领导人都非常重视科学和数据，谨慎地重新开放，并似乎受益于这些决定。专家称，相比之下，德克萨斯州和佛罗里达州的官员将经济问题放在首位，并在重新开放的关键前几周允许宽松的社会距离和最低限度的公众遮脸要求，现在正承受着加速重新开放的后果。
德克萨斯
德克萨斯州在重新开放该州经济方面很积极——而且很早。在过去的几周里，该州已经成为COVID-19的一个热点，由于致命病毒的存在，每日阳性率和住院率达到了历史新高，并且在过去的几周里死亡人数也在上升。
该州的共和党州长格雷格·阿博特(Greg Abbott)受到了赞扬和批评，因为他似乎将该州的经济复苏置于更严格的社会隔离措施之上。传染病专家敦促这些措施是确保重新开放不会引发COVID-19感染的关键。
雅培公司在4月2日发布了一份家庭订单，并让其在4月30日到期。州长是第一批在5月1日开始分阶段重新开放任何州的人之一，到6月初，几乎所有的企业都被允许开放至少50%。在短短几周内，该州的大量企业重新开业:日光浴沙龙、健身房、公园、海滩、水体、游泳池、理发店和沙龙。
州长还继续避免强制要求在该州戴口罩，称这一举动侵犯了个人自由，但他越来越——也越来越积极地——推荐戴口罩，许多卫生官员称这是一项简单的救命措施。
六月给这个州带来了巨大的隐患和损失——自从阵亡将士纪念日以来，COVID-19的住院率上升了36%。周末，休斯顿停止报告住院数据。在上周一的新闻发布会上，雅培说，“COVID-19现在正在德克萨斯州以一个不可接受的速度扩散，它必须被控制住。”
上周四，雅培按下了该州重新开放的“暂停”按钮，结束了该州最大的县的选择性手术。
最近几周，由于COVID-19导致的阳性病例和住院人数开始大幅增加，远远超过了德克萨斯州之前的峰值，州长强调戴口罩重要性的讲话在语气和基调上出现了明显的变化，他告诫年轻人不要更加小心，并警告孤星州的居民呆在家里。
尽管州长制定了几项策略，旨在减少病毒在德克萨斯州的传播，而不会导致新重新开放的州经济的关闭，但他说，健康和财务状况不必是一个选择。“我们可以两者兼得，”他上周表示。“我们可以保护生命，同时恢复生计。我们将共同保护得克萨斯人的安全，并保持我们的州对商业的开放。”
周五，随着该州冠状病毒疫情的蔓延，雅培下令德州酒吧再次关闭，餐馆的入住率降至50%。此外，未经当地政府批准，州长停止了100多人的漂流和户外活动。之前的限制是针对超过500人的集会。
周五中午酒吧被迫关闭。餐厅的容量削减于周一生效。
然后在周一，雅培表示，再次完全关闭该州的经济只能作为最后手段。
在得克萨斯州的许多大城市，当地官员将他们的愤怒指向了雅培。“已经发生了许多不一致或冲突的信息，”德克萨斯州哈里斯县公共卫生部的执行主任乌马尔·沙阿博士最近告诉美国广播公司新闻。
2020年6月19日星期五，佛罗里达州州长罗恩·德桑蒂斯在迈阿密的佛罗里达国际大学参加了COVID-19的新闻发布会。
俄亥俄州
俄亥俄州州长迈克·德温是一名共和党人，他是美国第一批应对冠状病毒大流行的人之一。他和州卫生局长艾米·阿克顿博士是第一个关闭该国学校和酒吧的人，不久后，他于3月22日下令全州范围内禁止外出。到4月初，DeWine宣布该州在拉平曲线和防止该州成为该国的主要热点方面打了一个“全垒打”。
根据俄亥俄州卫生部的一份声明，虽然该州在疗养院和监狱没有爆发疫情，但自该州于5月1日开始重新开放以来的两个月中，该病毒的住院率有所下降，上周首次出现上升。根据美国广播公司新闻分析，每天新增病例和住院人数都在增加，但该州的死亡率也在下降。
在上周接受美国广播公司新闻采访时，德温承认该州“开始看到我们所关注的西南地区的一些峰值”，但总体来说，该州处于“相当好的状态”
俄亥俄州医院协会的主席兼首席执行官迈克·艾布拉姆斯表示同意。他说，虽然住院人数在增加，但这一比率似乎是可以控制的。
亚伯拉罕说，医院在容量方面做得“不错”。在大流行早期，俄亥俄州在会议中心和其他地方修建了三所临时医院，以防系统不堪重负，但最终从未使用过它们——艾布拉姆斯确实预测它们在未来需要这样做。艾布拉姆斯补充说，在早期与州长合作建立的数据库有助于跟踪每个医院的能力、供应和个人防护设备。
DeWine说他很感激他决定取消大型活动并提前关闭该州。
“这当然是正确的决定，”德温说。“如果，你知道，当时人们质疑我们——这看起来有点不成熟或太不成熟——我认为一次两个人，但事后看来，这肯定是正确的决定。”
德温自己的行为也起了一定的作用。虽然他没有在全州强制要求戴口罩，但DeWine一直明确表示口罩的重要性，并在简报会上戴上自己的口罩，只有在领奖台时才摘下口罩。他还像纽约州长安德鲁·科莫一样，在新闻发布会上接受了冠状病毒测试，他告诉美国广播公司，此举意在“鼓励”人们也这样做。
尽管如此，德温对科学领导的高度重视并不总是受欢迎。他的政府面临着公民的强烈反对，因为他们谨慎行事。前州卫生局长艾米·阿克顿(Amy Acton)因领导俄亥俄州应对疫情而赢得了全国的关注和赞誉。在经历了数月的反政府抗议、诉讼和骚扰后，他于6月卸任，成为德温的首席卫生顾问。
“好吧，我给那些对阿克顿博士或卫生主管不满的人的信息是，他们应该把他们的愤怒指向我，他们应该在我家抗议，他们应该抗议我，”德温说，为他的前卫生主管辩护。“他们有，但你知道，他们应该让她一个人呆着。”
在新闻发布会上宣布辞职后，阿克顿说能在俄亥俄州服务是一种“深深的荣幸”。
阿克顿说:“我在这里，我比以往任何时候都更加决心促进俄亥俄州人的健康和福祉，并代表州长服务。”。
尽管如此，最近几周，该州部分地区的病例和医院出现了一些令人担忧的趋势——在经历了数周的逐渐下降后，过去几周每天新增病例增加了一倍，住院人数也在慢慢回升——这就留下了一个问题，即州长是否有能力第二次处理这些病例。
康涅狄格州
在大流行早期，受影响最严重的州之一康涅狄格州在4月的第三周报告了每天超过2000个新病例和200个新死亡病例。当时大约有2000名COVID患者住院。
在周一重新开放大约一个半月后，该州仅报告了59例新病例和4例死亡病例。目前只有99名COVID患者住院治疗。
卫生专家注意到康涅狄格州和得克萨斯州在面积上的明显差异，但强调了州政府、地方官员和全州卫生系统之间强有力的合作以及公众的积极参与的重要性。他们还说，州长内德·拉蒙特，一名民主党人，对重新开放非常谨慎，确保在人们再次外出之前所有的指标都得到满足。
重要的是，到5月20日拉蒙特的家庭住院令到期，开始第一阶段的重新开放时，病例、死亡和住院已经持续下降了近一个月。
酒吧-在其他州被认为是问题区域-还没有开张。作为第三阶段重新开业的一部分，这些酒吧预计将于下月开业，不过州长周一表示，随着其他州的案件激增，他将重新考虑开放酒吧。
拉蒙特的行政命令，要求社会距离和面部覆盖全州实施于4月，仍然有效。耶鲁纽黑文卫生系统布里奇波特医院的助理首席医疗官维克多·莫里斯博士说，公众对秩序的严格遵守也在减缓病毒传播方面发挥了重要作用。
莫里斯说:“当我在室内的商店或杂货店、邓肯甜甜圈店或我可能去的任何地方时，每个人都有一个面具。”。
莫里斯补充道:“我认为现在走出这个阴影，不同的是我们生活在其中——康涅狄格州的人们看到了它有多糟糕。”。
2020年7月1日，纽约曼哈顿区，戴着面具的行人走在人行道上。
莫里斯说，布里奇波特医院是纽约市边界附近最繁忙的医院之一，在高峰期有226名COVID患者住院，其中66人在重症监护室，44人在呼吸机旁，现在共有16名COVID患者。其中只有五个在重症监护室，两个在呼吸机上。在耶鲁纽黑文，COVID住院治疗从高峰期的760例下降到43例。耶鲁纽黑文大学的首席医疗官汤姆·巴尔切萨克博士说，到目前为止，耶鲁纽黑文大学总共已经有大约3000名COVID患者出院。
Balcezak说，虽然他觉得现在这个州处于非常稳定和舒适的水平，但他“绝对”担心第二次复苏，他说全国各地的数字“相当可怕”。
他说，他也担心更多的人在夏天开始外出，在他们的私人庭院和家中举行大型聚会，但他补充说，他相信国家已经建立了一个强大的基础设施和足够的指导方针，公众一直很好地遵守。
“这是一种无法治愈的疾病，”巴尔切萨克说。“没有医学，意味着接种疫苗，预防，一旦你得到它，我们唯一的疗法...是我们的支持疗法。我们抗击这种疾病的头号武器是我们传统的老式公共卫生措施，公众需要知道并关注这一点。”
佛罗里达
另一方面，自经济重新开放以来，佛罗里达州的冠状病毒病例激增，而共和党州长罗恩·德桑蒂斯(Ron DeSantis)自大流行爆发以来，因其处理大流行的方式而面临重大批评。
截至周二，佛罗里达州卫生部报告了总共152，434例阳性病例和3，505例死亡。
德桑蒂斯不情愿地在4月1日发布了全州范围内的留在家中的命令，并在5月4日重新开放，全州共有36，897例冠状病毒病例，每天报告的病例不到1，000例。佛罗里达慢慢地开始重新开放，餐馆和零售商被允许在有限的容量下经营。同一个月，尽管该州在一天之内三次增长超过1000人，但德桑蒂斯宣布该州将进入重新开放的“第一阶段”。
但近两个月后，该州在过去几周内出现了创纪录的新冠状病毒病例和住院病例。案件在重新开放过程中激增，导致各县市推迟重新开放计划，并实施更严格的面部遮盖要求。
该州打破了新的冠状病毒病例记录，周末报告了9585例新的每日感染病例，此后，市政府官员宣布在7月4日周末关闭该州的几个海滩和县拥有的公园。
迈阿密戴德市长卡洛斯·希门尼斯在周五的一次会议上说:“我可以预见7月4日，海滩上会有成群结队的人，很难保持社交距离，人们会聚在一起，尤其是年轻人。”。“我们现在看到这种病毒在这个年龄组很流行，我们想把它控制住。”
迈阿密戴德以及布劳沃德和棕榈滩县仍处于该州重新开放计划的第一阶段。自6月5日以来，该州的其他地区已进入第二阶段。
继上周案件激增之后，德桑蒂斯实施了新的限制，命令该州的酒吧停止供应酒精。
但德桑蒂斯表示，尽管最近冠状病毒病例激增，他目前没有计划在全州范围内发布口罩要求，让地方领导人决定口罩的授权和处罚。
迈阿密戴德县和布劳沃德县从4月初开始发布面部遮盖要求，要求人们在参观重要企业时佩戴口罩。
就在上周，其他大多数县开始实施口罩要求，因为该州报告了冠状病毒病例的增加。
佛罗里达州的民选官员也表示，18-44岁的居民应对该州最近的案件激增负责。德桑蒂斯周日表示，这一群体外出的次数越来越多，社交速度也越来越快。据德桑蒂斯称，3月份COVID-19阳性病例的中位年龄为65岁，但在过去几周内，这一年龄已降至35岁。
“我们所看到的，尤其是上周，是年轻人群中新病例的真正激增，”德桑蒂斯本周早些时候在奥兰多的新闻发布会上说。
塞米诺尔县的医疗主任托德·胡斯蒂博士在佛罗里达州中部的该县发现了大量病例，他认为年轻人不遵守疾病预防控制中心的指导方针是罪魁祸首。
“自从阵亡将士纪念日以来，我们已经看到了其他大型社交聚会的影响，人们肩并肩挤在一起，没有面部遮盖，也没有社交距离，”Husty说有时候年轻人认为他们是不可战胜的，但是他们不得不面对现实，他们不能免疫。我认为州政府官员真的必须考虑继续重新开放，因为我们看到的情况非常令人担忧。"
A closer look at how 4 states are battling coronavirus with very different outcomes
InNew York, the original epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States, there are signs of life returning to normal as the caseload and fatality rates have been driven down to levels not seen since early spring.
By contrast, the virus is raging in several states in the South and West, propelling the United States to record numbers of daily cases and setting the nation on edge about as leaders there debate, and in some cases, move to stem the tide.
There is also everything in between -- states that have still seen relatively little virus transmission and are bracing for an outbreak.
So why have some states been successful in their fight while others have not?
ABC News analyzed the current status and reopening process of four states that emerged with different outcomes following their shutdowns -- Florida, Texas, Ohio and Connecticut.
Texas and Florida are both seeing worrisomecoronavirusoutbreaks across their states as many residents ignored or abandoned social distancing practices and masking. Both are seeing increases across the board in the rate of positivity (the percentage of coronavirus tests that come back positive), hospitalizations and deaths, and have each set new records for daily cases just this past weekend.
On Tuesday, Texas saw 6,533 hospitalizations across the state -- the most yet -- and Florida reported 9,585 new cases.
In Ohio, cases and hospitalizations have been increasing over the past couple weeks but at a slower rate than in Texas and Florida, and deaths have continued to drop. It’s complicated to make a direct comparison among states because of the difference in the way cases are reported, but in Ohio, cases have increased by about 100% in the past couple of weeks, while in Texas, cases have increased by about 150%. In Florida, cases have increased by nearly 250% during the same period.
Connecticut, by contrast, seems to have a handle on its outbreak -- the state has seen a decline in all three categories for well over two months now, according to ABC News’ analysis of state-released data.
The situation these states find themselves in may be in part a reflection of their leaders’ decisions about shutting down and reopening throughout the pandemic as well as the degree of urgency the public saw in the health crisis early on, experts said. Leaders in Ohio and Connecticut have both placed a heavy emphasis on science and data to proceed with reopening cautiously, and appear to be benefitting from those decisions. Texas and Florida officials, in contrast, put economic concerns first and allowed lax social distancing and minimal face-covering requirements for the public during the crucial first few weeks of reopening, and are now suffering the consequences of an accelerated reopening, according to experts.
Texas
Texas was aggressive – and early – in reopening the state’s economy. Over the last several weeks, the state has emerged as a top hotspot for COVID-19, reaching record highs in daily positive rates and hospitalizations due to the deadly virus, as well as a rising number of fatalities over the last several weeks.
The state's Republican governor, Greg Abbott, was the recipient of both praise and criticism in appearing to prioritize the state’s economic comeback over stricter social distancing measures infectious disease experts urged were key to assure that reopening did not spark a wave of COVID-19 infections.
Abbott issued a stay-at-home order on April 2, and let it expire April 30. The governor was among the first to begin a phased reopening of any state May 1, and by the start of June nearly all businesses were permitted to be open by at least 50%. Within a few short weeks, massive swaths of businesses in the state were back open for business: tanning salons, gyms, parks, beaches, bodies of water, pools, barbershops and salons.
The governor has also continued to avoid mandating masks be worn in the state, calling such a move intrusive to individual freedoms, but has been increasingly – and more fervently – recommending face masks, a simple measure that many health officials say is life-saving.
The month of June has presented significant pitfalls and losses for the state – with COVID-19 hospitalizations rising 36% since Memorial Day. Over the weekend, Houston stopped reporting hospitalization data. In a press conference last Monday, Abbott said, “COVID-19 is now spreading at an unacceptable rate in the state of Texas, and it must be corralled.”
Last Thursday, Abbott hit the “pause” button on the state’s reopening and ended the performance of elective surgeries in the state’s largest counties.
In recent weeks, as positive cases and hospitalizations due to COVID-19 began to surge significantly farther past Texas’ previous peaks, there has been a discernible change in tone and tenor of the governor’s remarks enforcing the importance of mask-wearing, admonishing younger people for not being more careful and, in general, warning residents of the Lone Star State to stay home.
While the governor laid out several tactics aimed at reducing the virus’ spread in Texas without leading to a shutdown of the newly reopened state economy, he said health and financial well-being don't have to be a choice. “We can have both," he said last week. "We can protect lives while also restoring livelihoods. Together, we will keep Texans safe and we will keep our state open for business."
On Friday, Abbott ordered Texas bars to close again and restaurants to reduce to 50% occupancy as the coronavirus outbreak in the state spreads. Additionally, the governor halted river-rafting trips and outdoor events of more than 100 people without local authorities’ approval. The previous limitation was for such gatherings of more than 500 people.
Bars were forced to close by midday Friday. The restaurant capacity slashing took effect Monday.
Then on Monday, Abbott said shuttering the state's economy again completely would only be used as a last resort.
In many of Texas' largest cities, local officials have directed their ire at Abbott. "There have been a lot of inconsistent or conflicting messages that have happened," Dr. Umair Shah, the executive director of the Harris County Public Health Department in Texas, recently told ABC News.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis participates in a news conference on COVID-19, Friday, June 19, 2020, at Florida International University in Miami.
Ohio
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, was one of the first in the nation to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. He, alongside state health director Dr. Amy Acton, was the first to close schools and bars in the country, and shortly after, ordered a statewide stay-at-home order on March 22. By early April, DeWine declared the state had hit a “home run” in flattening the curve and preventing the state from becoming a major hotspot in the country.
While the state did have issues without outbreaks in nursing homes and prisons, in the two months since the state first began reopening on May 1, hospitalizations of the virus have declined and just saw their first increase last week, according to a release from the Ohio Department of Health. The daily number of new cases and hospitalizations are now increasing, according to an ABC News analysis, but fatalities in the state are also falling.
During an interview with ABC News last week, DeWine acknowledged the state is “starting to see some spikes in the southwest we’re concerned about,” but overall said the state is in “pretty good shape.”
Mike Abrams, the president and CEO of the Ohio Hospital Association, agreed. He said that while hospitalizations are increasing, the rate appears to be manageable, he said.
Hospitals are doing “fine” in terms of capacity, Abrams said. Ohio built out three temporary hospitals in convention centers and other spaces early on in the pandemic in case the system was to be overwhelmed, but never ended up using them-- and Abrams does predict they will need to in the future. A database created early on in coordination with the governor helped to track every hospital’s capacity, supplies and PPE, Abrams added.
DeWine said he was grateful he made the decision to cancel large events and shut down the state early on.
“It certainly was the right decision,” DeWine stated. “If it, you know, people question us at the time-- it looked a little premature or a lot premature-- I think two people at a time, but it was certainly in hindsight the right decision.”
DeWine’s own behavior may have played a role as well. While he did not mandate masks in the state, DeWine has been unequivocal about their importance and wears his own mask to briefings, only taking them off when at the podium. He also took a coronavirus test at a press briefing, like New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo did, a move he told ABC News was meant to “encourage” people to do the same.
Still, DeWine’s heavy emphasis on leading by science has not always been popular. His administration has faced backlash from citizens as they proceeded cautiously. Former state health director Dr. Amy Acton-- who gained national attention and praise for leading Ohio’s response to the outbreak-- stepped down in June after months of anti-shutdown protests, lawsuits and harassment to become DeWine’s chief health advisor.
"Well my message to people who were upset with Dr. Acton, or health director, is they should direct their ire to me, they should protest at my house, they should protest me,” DeWine said, defending his former health director. “And they have, but you know, they should leave her alone.”
After announcing her resignation during a press conference, Acton said it was a “deep honor” to have served in Ohio.
“I am here, I am more determined than ever to advance the health and well being of Ohioans, and to serve on behalf of the governor,” Acton said.
Still, some worrisome trends in cases and hospitals have begun to emerge in parts of the state in recent weeks -- after weeks of gradual decline, daily new cases have doubled in the past couple weeks and hospitalizations are slowly climbing back up as well -- leaving questions about how the governor will be able to handle them the second time around.
Connecticut
One of the hardest-hit states early on in the pandemic, Connecticut, was reporting more than 2,000 new cases and 200 new deaths a day at its peak in the third week of April. There were about 2,000 COVID patients hospitalized at that time.
About a month and a half into its reopening, on Monday, the state reported just 59 new cases and four deaths. And only 99 COVID patients were currently hospitalized.
Health experts noted the obvious difference in size of Connecticut and Texas, but emphasized the significance of a robust collaboration of the state government, local officials and health systems across the state, coupled with diligent participation from the public. They also say Gov. Ned Lamont, a Democrat, was very cautious about reopening, making sure all metrics were met before people went out again.
Importantly, by the time Lamont’s stay-at-home order expired on May 20 to kick off Phase 1 of reopening, cases, deaths and hospitalization had been on a steady decline for nearly a month.
Bars -- which have been cited as problem areas in other states -- have yet to open. They are were finally expected to open next month as part of the third phase of reopening, though the governor on Monday said he’s reconsidering opening up bars as cases in other states surge.
Lamont’s executive order mandating social distancing and face covering statewide implemented in April, is also still in effect. Dr. Victor Morris, assistant chief medical officer at Bridgeport Hospital of the Yale New Haven Health System, said the public’s close adherence to the order has also played a big role in slowing down the spread of the virus.
“When I'm indoors at a store or a grocery store, Dunkin' Donuts, or wherever I might go, everybody has a mask,” Morris said.
“I think coming out of it now, a difference is that we lived it -- people in Connecticut saw how bad it was,” Morris added.
Pedestrians wearing masks walk down the sidewalk in the Manhattan borough of New York, July 1, 2020.
At Bridgeport Hospital, which was one of the busiest hospitals near the New York City border, which at its peak had 226 COVID patients hospitalized, 66 of them in intensive care and 44 of them on ventilators, now has a total of 16 COVID patients, Morris said. Just five of them are in ICU and two are on ventilators. Across Yale New Haven, COVID hospitalization has come down to 43 from 760 at its peak. Yale New Haven in total has discharged about 3,000 COVID patients so far, Yale New Haven’s chief medical officer Dr. Tom Balcezak said.
Balcezak said while he feels the state is at a very stable and comfortable level right now, he’s “absolutely” worried about a second resurgence, saying the numbers across the country are “pretty terrifying.”
He said he’s also worried about more people starting to go out and have larger gatherings in their private yards and homes in the summer, but added he believes the state has built a robust infrastructure and adequate guidelines that the public has been following well.
“This is a disease for which there is no cure,” Balcezak said. “There is no medical, meaning vaccination, prevention, and once you get it, our only therapies ... are our supportive therapies. The number one weapon we have to fight this disease is our classic good old fashioned public health measures, and the public needs to know and pay attention to that.”
Florida
Florida, on the other hand, has seen an explosion of coronavirus cases since reopening the economy, and Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, has faced significant criticisms for his handling of the pandemic since the outbreak began.
As of Tuesday, Florida’s health department has reported a total of 152,434 positive cases and 3,505 deaths.
DeSantis, reluctantly issued a statewide stay-at-home order on April 1 and opened back up on May 4, with a total of 36,897 coronavirus cases statewide and reporting less than 1,000 cases per day. Florida slowly began to reopen with restaurants and retailers allowed to operate with limited capacity. That same month, even though the state saw increases larger than 1,000 in a single day three times, DeSantis announced the state would enter “full phase one” of reopening.
But nearly two months later, the state has seen a record-setting pace of new coronavirus cases and hospitalizations over the last few weeks. The explosion of cases amid the reopening has resulted in counties and cities rolling back on reopening plans and implementing stricter facial covering requirements.
After the state crushed its record for new coronavirus cases, reporting 9,585 new daily infections over the weekend, city officials announced the closure of several beaches and county-owned parks across the state for the Fourth of July weekend.
“I can foresee a Fourth of July where you have throngs of people on the beach, very difficult to keep social distancing, people getting together, especially young people getting together,” said Miami-Dade Mayor, Carlos Gimenez at a conference on Friday. “We now see this virus is prevalent in this age group and we want to keep this down.”
Miami-Dade, along with Broward and Palm Beach counties, is still in Phase 1 of the state’s reopening plan. The rest of the state has been in phase 2 since June 5.
Following the surge of cases last week, DeSantis imposed new restrictions, ordering bars in the state to stop serving alcohol.
But DeSantis said he has no plans to issue a statewide mask requirement at this time, despite the recent surge in coronavirus cases, leaving it up to local leaders to decide on mask mandates and penalties.
Miami-Dade and Broward counties issued facial covering requirements since early April, requiring people to wear masks when visiting essential businesses.
Most other counties began implementing mask requirements just last week, as the state had been reporting increases in coronavirus cases.
Florida’s elected officials have also said residents aged 18-44 are responsible for the state’s recent spike in cases. That group is going out more and socializing at a greater rate, DeSantis said Sunday. According to DeSantis, the median age of positive COVID-19 cases in March was 65 years old but in the past few weeks, it had dropped to 35.
"What we've seen, particularly over the last week, is a real explosion in new cases amongst our younger demographics," DeSantis said in a news conference in Orlando earlier this week.
Dr. Todd Husty, Seminole County’s medical director, who has seen an explosion of cases in the county in central Florida, believes younger people not following CDC guidelines are to blame.
“Since Memorial Day, we have seen the impact of other large social gatherings, people crowded shoulder to shoulder with no facial covering and no social distancing, said Husty. “Sometimes younger people think they’re invincible but they have to face the reality that they’re not immune. I think state officials really have to think about continuing to reopen because what we are seeing is very alarming.”
