Florida reopens state's economy despite ongoing pandemic [View all]

[TomCADem]

Source: Boston.com

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Gov. Ron DeSantis lifted all restrictions on restaurants and other businesses in Florida on Friday, and banned local fines against people who refuse to wear masks as he seeks to reopen the state's economy despite the spread of the coronavirus.

The Republican governor's order unleashed fresh debate in the politically divided state, where pandemic responses have become intertwined with the upcoming presidential election.

DeSantis, a major ally of President Donald Trump, acknowledged that the pandemic is far from over, but he said the threat has eased and the time has come to reopen for business after six months of "people twisting in the wind."

The governor's announcement Friday allows restaurants across the state to immediately reopen at full capacity -- and prevents cities and counties from ordering them to close or operate at less than half-capacity, unless they can justify a closure for economic or health reasons.

Read more: https://www.boston.com/news/politics/2020/09/25/florida-governor-reopening-states-economy-despite-continued-covid-19-spread

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So, DeSantis is once again following the Trump plan for dealing with coronavirus. It is in the bottom 10 states for tests taken per capita despite the fact that it had large summer surge and it is still on the high side for positivity rate:

https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/testing/tracker/overview

So, I guess if you test less, then you have less cases as the Nation heads into flu season. I guess this represents a gamble that any resulting spike will take place after the election.

To put this in perspective, Florida has been averaging more daily deaths than California, which has almost twice as many people.