CNN has created an excellent chart that brings great perspective to COVID-19's effects state by state. The chart provides not just the totals, but both infections & deaths per 100k of population. Florida's results are stunning. Despite being
1) the 3rd most populous state as well as
2) the 3rd largest in terms of elderly population, & having,
3) BY FAR, NOT EVEN CLOSE, the highest % of seniors among the most populated States,
FLA is only 32nd in terms of infections & 26th in terms of deaths when measured per capita.
This is astonishing! Some critics have called this luck. I say bullshit. We simply have better legislators in Florida, led by Governor Ron DeSantis, who governed far differently than Mr. Cuomo did in New York. While Cuomo ruled that no one could be denied re-admission or admission to a Nursing Home solely based on a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of COVID-19, DeSantis did the opposite, protecting not only the vulnerable nursing home residents, but nursing home staff. He correctly isolated the most at risk Floridians, & prevented the elderly citizen carnage that happened in New York & other states. DeSantis received harsh criticism for allowing some counties to be treated differently than others, but it worked & is still working. And bravo to our Florida Mayors and County Officials as well. Your collective tactics have worked. All media criticisms now fall on deaf ears as the results speak for themselves. Unlike other states, our local & state officials not only cooperated fully, but praised & supported each other. Very different from states like PA, TX, Wisconsin, Illinois, & others. We had legislative unity here in Florida, and there was ZERO partisanship. Florida's response should be the model for the entire nation.
https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2020/health/coronavirus-us-maps-and-cases/