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11
Mar/Apr 2020
3 Florida Governor Ron DeSantis issues coronavirus stay-at-home order
YOU CAN:
Go to the grocery store or pharmacy to purchase food and essential items. Go to medical appointments, but check with your doctor first. Go to restaurants for takeout. Care for a family member or loved one. Take a walk, ride your bike, jog and be outside for exercise - just keep at least six feet of space between you and others. Lounge in front of your house or in a backyard garden, but maintain social distancing guidelines.
YOU CAN NOT:
Go to work unless you are providing essential service as defined by the order. Visit friends and family if there is no urgent need. Maintain less than six feet of space between you and others when you go out.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis mandated a 30-day stay-at-home order for the state on April 1st, requiring that the state's nearly 21 million residents stay indoors unless they are pursuing essential services or activities. His executive order will take effect midnight Thursday, April 2nd. The number of Floridians testing positive for covid-19 has accelerated rapidly, nearly doubling in the past four days with 3,274 new cases, bringing the statewide total to 6,741 as of Tuesday evening. The state reported 857 people hospitalized and 85 deaths as of Tuesday, with the heaviest concentration of infection in Broward and Miami-Dade counties and pockets in other areas, like Tampa and Orange County, home of Walt Disney World. On March 31st, 14 deaths were reported in the state, according to the Miami Herald. The state of Florida has more than 5,000 cases. It’s now in the company of California, New York
Illinois, Massachusetts, and New Jersey.
Michigan
Of those states, however, Florida had been the only one not under a statewide “stay-at-home” order. DeSantis has until now urged people in Southeast Florida to remain at home and said this week he would issue a “safer at home” order codifying that advice.
COVID-19: Adjusting to the "new normal" The COVID-19 pandemic is straining health systems worldwide. The rapidly increasing demand on health facilities and health care workers threatens to leave some health systems overstretched and unable to operate effectively. Previous outbreaks have demonstrated that when health systems are overwhelmed, mortality from vaccine-preventable and other treatable conditions can also increase dramatically. During the 2014-2015 Ebola outbreak, the
increased number of deaths caused by measles, malaria, HIV/AIDS, and tuberculosis attributable to health system failures exceeded deaths from Ebola. “The best defense against any outbreak is a strong health system,” stressed WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “COVID-19 is revealing how fragile many of the world’s health systems and services are, forcing countries to make difficult choices on how to best meet the needs of their people.”