Published.
April 22, 2020 04: 43:11
Florida is a place so easy and breezy in America’s imagination that they call it the Sunshine State.
It’s known for amusement parks, citrus trees and 2,100 kilometres of shoreline, a place where the daily temperature averages 21.5 degrees and America’s east coast hustle feels far away.
All that warmth and serenity make it a top tourist location, a sanctuary for senior retired people and (you thought it) an ideal cocktail of coronavirus vulnerabilities.
There’s another active ingredient to point out, which is that the southernmost state has actually been widely criticised for its absence of preparation.
Florida’s first statewide stay-at-home order came on April 1, a month after its first verified case.
On the surface, it’s not as bad as it could be.
The state has a population of over 21 million however just reported 25,000 verified cases at the time of writing. In comparison, New york city (population 19 million) has over 200,000
South Florida is roughly the eighth most significant hotspot in the United States.
But testing in the state was substantially delayed and a shortage of sets stays.
While the curve is starting to flatten in places like New York, Florida’s is simply starting to round. It may not reach its peak for another 2 weeks.
As parts of the United States set dates for resuming, bright Florida is still seeing the storm developing, bracing for the possibility it comes down hard.
‘ If I get corona, I get corona’
The fact that its $134 billion AUD tourism market is the backbone of Florida’s economy is no doubt a reason the state continued to entertain visitors well past the fi