DeSantis’ rush to reopen created a mess. His anti-mask rhetoric is extending the pandemic
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, a significant metric used to judge how we’re doing has been positivity rates. We’ve watched them go up and down.
Our positivity rates have been a good indicator of how well, or how poorly, we’ve managed this horror.
Last year, bars and restaurants and other businesses were shut down to stop and slow the spread. Little by little, as pressure mounted to “reopen the economy,” Governor Ron DeSantis, and other Republican governors relented, using positivity rates from virus tests as a primary guide. About five months after our first COVID-19 case in Florida, the guv began reopening beaches.
Positivity is a good indicator: when there’s higher transmission, it is quite likely that more people have the virus. The higher the rate, it's more clear we're having community spread of the virus, which prolongs the pandemic.
In the early days of the pandemic, which counties could open bars and restaurants was tied to a 5% threshold. Depending on the phase, inside customer capacity was 25%, 50% or 75% until it was deemed safe to resume full capacity.
By September our Governor had reopened the state full throttle.
Thankfully, in those early days as the vaccines were made available, we got better. Now the more dangerous, more contagious delta variant is ravaging our state and we’re in danger of a total reversal if we’re not careful.
Florida’s COVID-19 numbers had been getting better in recent months. Declining case numbers, hospitalizations and deaths gave us hope.
In recent days, “The Rona” is being sneaky in some places and the coronavirus is simply rushing through open doors. Our fair state has watched positivity rates rise as the delta variant swarms our communities and our people.
Florida is setting new COVID records
Positivity is a good indicator: when there’s higher transmission, it is quite likely that more people have the virus. The higher the rate, it's more clear we're having community spread of the virus, which prolongs the pandemic.
In the early days of the pandemic, which counties could open bars and restaurants was tied to a 5% threshold. Depending on the phase, inside customer capacity was 25%, 50% or 75% until it was deemed safe to resume full capacity.
By September our Governor had reopened the state full throttle.
Thankfully, in those early days as the vaccines were made available, we got better. Now the more dangerous, more contagious delta variant is ravaging our state and we’re in danger of a total reversal if we’re not careful.
Florida’s COVID-19 numbers had been getting better in recent months. Declining case numbers, hospitalizations and deaths gave us hope.
In recent days, “The Rona” is being sneaky in some places and the coronavirus is simply rushing through open doors. Our fair state has watched positivity rates rise as the delta variant swarms our communities and our people.
Florida is setting new COVID records
Now with Florida holds the dubious distinction of serving as the nation’s epicenter of new COVID cases having recorded 134, 506 cases last week.
For week ending August 5th, Florida’s positivity rate was sitting at 18.9%, and many of our counties have much higher positivity rates.
As the last reporting, Aug. 5, the positivity rates for many of the counties a large number of FAMU students come from are: Leon, 18.8%. Duval, 20%. Dade, 19.9%. Orange, 16.1%. Hillsboro, 19.2%. Broward, 16.8%. Palm Beach, 17.1%. (all typical counties that FAMU tends to draw students from) There’s more.
Jefferson has a positivity rate of 21%. Gadsden is at 21.5%. Glades rate is 31.9. Taylor is at 25.0%. There’s not enough space to share it all.
Florida has a few counties doing better with lower positivity rates. among our more populous.
The combination of high positivity rates and large numbers of unvaccinated people is disturbing and deadly.
If we used the 5% guideline of last year to determine when businesses such as bars and restaurants can be open, imagine how many businesses should close in now.
We can be pro-life and pro-business. But there is no business without living, breathing clients and customers.
The problem is not enough of us have cooperated. Too many people are working against health officials’ best efforts to significantly reducing virus transmission. We know because the positivity rates are too high. I know because I’ve seen largely mask less packed bars, restaurants and entertainment venues. I’ve seen largely mask less concert gatherings on TV and IG.
We know keeping people apart — forcing them to socialize at home or at a neighbor’s where they should not be in large crowds anyway — is the way to go.
Florida needs leadership at the top that leads with compassion and clarity about doing what’s right. We need leaders willing to put things in place to protect the majority of us, those who want to live, those who care about others. We need leaders to implement vaccine mandates. We need more leaders to use positivity rates as a key metric again. Shutting down isn’t a great choice, but if we don’t get businesses do more to keep people apart or get vaccinated, our leaders need to step in.
We can’t have it both ways. We can’t say we need to be open, unmasked and with no social distancing. I’m willing to see how many businesses and individuals are willing to step up, get vaccinations, independently restrict venue access to the masked.
We can either do what needs to be done now, or we pay the price later. I know we can do it. My question: Do we want to?
The problem is not enough of us have cooperated. Too many people are working against health officials’ best efforts to significantly reducing virus transmission. We know because the positivity rates are too high. I know because I’ve seen largely mask less packed bars, restaurants and entertainment venues. I’ve seen largely mask less concert gatherings on TV and IG.
We know keeping people apart — forcing them to socialize at home or at a neighbor’s where they should not be in large crowds anyway — is the way to go.
Florida needs leadership at the top that leads with compassion and clarity about doing what’s right. We need leaders willing to put things in place to protect the majority of us, those who want to live, those who care about others. We need leaders to implement vaccine mandates. We need more leaders to use positivity rates as a key metric again. Shutting down isn’t a great choice, but if we don’t get businesses do more to keep people apart or get vaccinated, our leaders need to step in.
We can’t have it both ways. We can’t say we need to be open, unmasked and with no social distancing. I’m willing to see how many businesses and individuals are willing to step up, get vaccinations, independently restrict venue access to the masked.
We can either do what needs to be done now, or we pay the price later. I know we can do it. My question: Do we want to?