Florida is reporting fewer cases of the Chinese coronavirus per capita than its blue state counterparts, according to the New York Times’ Saturday data.
The Times’ chart provides the daily average of cases, as well as the number per 100,000. Florida is at the bottom of the list in terms of cases per capita, reporting 10 per 100,000 as of Saturday — a decrease of 42 percent in the last two weeks. Only one state, Hawaii, is reporting lower cases per capita, coming in at eight.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s (D) state of Michigan is reporting 39 cases per 100,000, while Gov. Tom Wolf’s (D) Pennsylvania is reporting 31 per capita.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer addresses the state during a speech in Lansing, Mich., Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021 (Michigan Office of the Governor via AP).
New York, once the U.S. epicenter of the virus, is reporting 21 cases per capita — a decrease of 17 percent over the past 14 days. Blue California is reporting 14 cases per 100,00, and Washington, DC, which currently has a mask mandate in place, is reporting 12 cases per 100,000 — all higher than the Sunshine State. Similarly, Illinois is reporting 17 cases per capita. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) has shown no signs of lifting the statewide mask mandate, which he reinstated in August.
While these blue states implemented forceful lockdown measures throughout the pandemic and reinstated some of the restrictions, including mask mandates, in recent weeks, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has remained consistent in his refusal to lock down his state and cripple the economy.
That has proven to bode well for the Sunshine State, and not just from a healthcare point, as DeSantis announced on Friday that the state’s job growth rate is three times the national rate, experiencing 17 consecutive months of growth: