Florida bucks social distancing trend as COVID-19 cases skyrocket

Enlarge / MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - MARCH 30: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis attends a news conference in the Hard Rock Stadium parking lot on March 30, 2020 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (credit: Getty | Joe Raedle)

As more and more states issue stay-at-home orders, Florida is taking a different—some say dangerous—approach to dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Though the state’s confirmed case counts have rapidly risen in step with increased testing, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has rejected the idea of a state-wide order to keep people at home. Instead, the governor has opted to address coronavirus responses on a county-by-county basis, in hopes of sparing local economies.

On Monday, DeSantis signed an executive order urging residents in just four counties in Southeast Florida to stay in. The counties—Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, and Monroe—include some of the hardest hit in the state. Together, they have reported around 60 percent of the state’s 5,704 cases as of Tuesday, March 31. Many people in the four counties had already been limiting outings.