Coronavirus leaves Florida a state of confusion
Crime writer Carl Hiaasen, the celebrated chronicler of contemporary Florida, once referred to his beloved state as “the poster child of nationwide dysfunction.” That was before the COVID-19 pandemic began killing one of its residents about every nine minutes.
So what would he call it now?
“It’s, it’s … I don’t even know how to describe it,” he stammered. “I’m just following this almost like a daily sports box score, looking at the numbers trying to figure out how much worse it can get.”
Florida is now the U.S. epicenter of the pandemic.
Over the last week, it reported more than 83,000 new cases, well ahead of California and Texas, two much larger states that are also struggling to contain the virus.
Yet in much of Florida the response to the crisis has been little more than a shrug. Disney World has reopened, restaurants and shopping malls are crowded, and Gov. Ron DeSantis has invited four professional sports leagues and the Republican national convention to the state.
“It is like one giant SNL skit,” Hiaasen said. “You just wonder what stupid thing is going to happen next.”
https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-07-16/coronirus-leaves-florida-a-state-of-confusion
= new reply since forum marked as read
