Floridians Stopped Traveling Well Before Official Shutdowns, Data Shows [View all]

[JI7]

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a stay-at-home order that went into effect April 3. By comparison, California's stay-at-home order began March 19, Illinois' started March 21, New York's on March 22 and Ohio's on March 23.

Despite Florida's later action, the data showed that people sharply cut their travel well before their counties and the state issued stay-at-home orders.

For example, in the five days before Miami-Dade County's March 26 stay-at-home order, more than half the phones tracked by Descartes Labs never traveled more than a mile, according to the Times. That was a drop of more than 80% compared with data collected from mid-February to early March.

The analysis confirms what experts told CNN earlier this month as DeSantis took credit for the comparatively low infection and death rate in Florida.

Florida, the country's third-most populous state, has had over 40,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and over 1,700 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Its infection rate and death rate per capita have been well below those of other states, and experts are torn as to why that is.

Florida remains an enigma, according to multiple epidemiologists who spoke to CNN -- a place where unique factors like "car culture," lower density in parts of the state outside of Miami, less frequent use of public transportation and possibly even heat and humidity may have slowed transmission of the coronavirus.

Still, they worry that the Sunshine State will see a second wave of coronavirus cases as restaurants and many businesses open their doors.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/11/us/florida-coronavirus-travel/index.html