Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States, no two states have been more different in their approaches than California and Florida.
In early March, the California government Gavin Newsom restricted gatherings, closed bars and restaurants in restaurants, implemented mask mandates, and begged residents to stay home.
By comparison, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis took little action to repeal an ordinance that banned people from doing business and dining, as well as lifting fines and penalties related to COVID-19 in September.
Lighter restrictions mean schools have not been closed nationwide and mask mandates have never been imposed.
In November, he even criticized states like California for having stricter restrictions, saying he trusted its residents to “use common sense”.
In an interview with Fox News Business on Sunday, DeSantis argued that Florida “focused on lifting people” during the pandemic but “lockdown states” were “putting people out of business”.
“There are quite a number of things we’ve done for COVID, but at the same time we’ve raised our state, we’ve saved our economy, and I think we’ll be the first to get out of the gate as soon as we can COVID behind bring the country, ”he told Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo.
Despite these different approaches, both states achieved roughly the same result. A DailyMail.com analysis shows that the states have decreased cases, deaths and hospitalizations by about a third over the past two months.
So were locks necessary and did they work? The answer is complicated, but researchers say they were beneficial in the first few months as we don’t know how COVID-19 spreads or how to treat it.
Studies have shown that staying at home jobs and restrictions saved numerous lives, but that they may now be less useful as a larger segment of the population gains natural immunity through infection or immunity through vaccination – but that social distancing and Masks continue to be necessary to continue lowering case and death rates.
As the pandemic progressed, California (left) had a rate of approximately 8,499 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population, while Florida had approximately 8,306 (right) per 100,000 population. Currently, both are rapidly declining, with fewer than 10,000 cases being reported daily. The dashed line represents the national seven-day average and the solid line represents the seven-day average for California and Florida
Both California (left) and Florida (right) have recorded between 10 and 20 deaths per million people in the past two months. Historically, Florida has had about 130 cases per 100,000 people, compared to 117 deaths per 100,000 in California. The dashed line represents the national seven-day average and the solid line represents the seven-day average for California and Florida
The hospital remedies for California (left) and Florida (right) bear a remarkable resemblance to one another, with peaks seen between early and mid-January and declining since then. The dashed line represents the national seven-day average and the solid line represents the seven-day average for California and Florida
If you look at the raw numbers, California seems to be doing worse than Florida.
The Golden State has a total of 3,399,878 cases and 46,843 deaths – both numbers are the highest in the nation.
For comparison: Florida reports a total of 1,827,373 infections and 28,779 deaths.
However, the population size must be taken into account. California has about 40 million people and Florida has about 22 million.
When adjusted for this metric, the states have very similar case rates.
According to the COVID Tracking Project, California and Florida report an average of 200 to 400 cases per million people, and have both seen declines in the past few days.
Both states followed a similar curve, with a spike in cases around Jan. 1 – as the winter surge resulted in rapidly increasing rates of cases and deaths – and infections subsided a few weeks later.
Dr. Stuart Ray, a professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University, told DailyMail.com in a previous interview that Americans are currently seeing the effects of their good behavior, which is why curves and rates look so similar across states.
“What we are seeing in this epidemic is that it is cycling,” he said.
“If people aren’t careful, the virus will infect a lot of people, but we’ve seen several spikes dampen when people get serious.”
Death tells a similar story. Historically, Florida has had about 130 cases per 100,000 people, compared to 117 deaths per 100,000 in California.
In the past 90 days, both states have recorded between 10 and 20 deaths per million people, data from the COVID Tracking Project shows.
Again, their curves look similar, with deaths rising in mid-January, a few weeks behind the rise in cases due to death as a lagging indicator.
Ray said at the start of the pandemic there were relatively asynchronous peaks on the east and west coasts.
It wasn’t about whether states peak or not, just when, he said.
“We didn’t have a coherent message at the federal level, so this was a complete control approach,” said Ray.
“What we see with this is when people get different stimulus messaging rates of infection population stories taking hold … then people become more cautious.
“It is the motivator that convinces you not to go to this meeting or wear your mask. News contributed to a message that people thought, “You know what? [Coronavirus] is a big deal. “‘
The California government Gavin Newsom issued very strict instructions during the coronavirus pandemic (orange lines) such as: B. Indoor bars and restaurants that are closed and gradually relax as falls decrease (blue lines). As soon as the rates rise, it issues locks again
California restricted the way most businesses operate during the crisis. Pictured: The Manhattan Beach Pier can be seen in the distance on January 29th in Hermosa Beach, California
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has issued very few closures (orange lines) and has been very critical of states like California with strict restrictions. Both states follow similar curves. Even with rising rates, he has decided to reopen (blue lines). much of his condition
In an interview with Fox News Business on Sunday, DeSantis argued that Florida “focused on lifting people” during the pandemic but “lockdown states” were “putting people out of business”. Pictured: Fans of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers celebrate the team’s Super Bowl win in early February
How do states compare on COVID-19 hospitalizations?
The COVID Tracking Project, which recorded hospital stays in all states, does not include all hospital stays ever reported in California, while that data was only made public in Florida in July.
At its peak on Jan. 7, California reported a total of 22,851 people hospitalized for the virus in one day, while Florida reported 7,762 people on Jan. 14.
When adjusted for 100,000, states have a similar rate of hospitalization.
About a month ago California had a rate of about 56 hospitalizations per 100,000 while Florida had about 35 per 100,000. Now is California’s rate According to a DailyMail.com analysis, 24 is hospital admissions per 100,000, while Florida’s is about 22 per 100,000.
However, the Tampa Bay Times notes that Florida’s rate was historically higher until recently.
For example, Florida reported about 44 hospitalizations per 100,000 in late July, while California had about 22 per 100,000 before peaking again in late December and early January.
What is remarkable when it comes to hospital stays is age.
More than a fifth, or 21 percent, of Florida’s population is aged 65 or over, with at least 4.6 million of the state’s 22 million identified as seniors.
By comparison, only 15 percent of California’s population are older, six million out of 40 million aged 65 and over.
This means more Florida residents are at risk of a virus affecting the elderly.
In recent months, despite their different approaches, with peaks in April for California and May for Florida, the two states have followed fairly similar trajectories, with another peak in the summer and early January before declining.
