A tale of two states

California v. Florida on coronavirus: A tale of two states? Not really.

Eric Ting

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has largely been pilloried on social media and by national publications over his response to the coronavirus, while on the other coast, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has received praise for his response.

Much of the DeSantis criticism stems from his decision to keep beaches open for spring break during the early days of the pandemic - inaction that came at a time when governors such as Newsom imposed strict shelter-in-place orders to slow the spread of the virus. When beaches in Jacksonville reopened in April, a number of social media hashtags such as #FloridaMorons began to circulate on Twitter, and the Washington Post published an op-ed titled, "In Florida, we love our beaches. Thanks to our governor, now we can die for them."

When Florida began to reopen last week, DeSantis was criticized by media outlets, health experts and House Democrats for moving too quickly, while in California, Newsom received only small criticism for putting his own state in Stage 2 of its reopening plan a few days later.

The casual observer may be led to believe the two governors' reopening plans differ wildly, but that casual observer would be wrong.

Here's a comparison of California and Florida's responses to the coronavirus pandemic.

The original shelter-in-place order and the death toll

Newsom was the first governor in the country to issue a statewide shelter-in-place order on March 19, and DeSantis became the 34th governor to issue one on April 1. However, a number of cities and counties in South Florida — the epicenter of the Florida outbreak — issued stay-at-home orders long before the statewide guidance came down.

Prior to issuing the statewide order, DeSantis offered support for Miami-Dade, Broward and other counties that issued stricter local guidances, but declined to issue an order across the entire state, citing the fact that rural counties did not have severe outbreaks. He was widely criticized for this decision, and a Miami Herald editorial specifically called on the governor to follow Newsom's lead in California.

But even with the discrepancy in the time it took to issue statewide shelter-in-place orders, Florida and California have had near-identical death-per-capita numbers. California has seen 7.4 deaths per 100,000 residents — only slightly lower than Florida's figure of 8.5. For comparison, New York has seen 112.3 deaths per 100,000 residents, and Louisiana has seen 48.2. The number of confirmed cases is declining in both California and Florida — even with both states conducting more tests than ever.

The reopening plans

DeSantis moved into the first phase of his reopening plan on May 4, and Newsom moved into his on May 8. While the timelines are similar, the specific permitted activities are not.

For both plans, the first phase of reopening allows for the return of retail, manufacturing, in-restaurant dining and office spaces where telework is not possible, although Newsom has only softened the California order to allow for retail and manufacturing at this time. Florida's first phase allowed for the return of higher-risk businesses California will not bring online until its next stage of reopening, such as hair salons, nail salons and gyms, albeit at 25 percent capacity.

Florida moved into the "Full Phase 1" on May 18, which means high-risk businesses can now increase capacity to 50 percent. Newsom stated Monday that high-risk businesses will return in early June.

An emphasis on local control

While there are important differences between the two plans regarding the types businesses allowed to reopen, both governors have been deferential to localities when it comes to the pace of reopening. In California, 24 counties — mostly rural — have received clearance to move "deeper" into Stage 2 and bring back dine-in restaurants, shopping malls and hospitality services. At the same time, Newsom has stated that Bay Area counties can enforce a stricter order and move at a slower pace if they so choose.

DeSantis has taken a similar approach. Even though the state guidelines allowed certain Florida businesses to reopen on May 4, Miami-Dade and Broward counties did not receive clearance by the governor to move into his "Phase 1" until May 18 — the same day most of the San Francisco Bay Area caught up to the rest of the state of California. When DeSantis first announced his state's reopening plan, he explicitly stated that South Florida would be on a different timeline, and that other counties could move faster.

"Pretty much the rest of the state has really handled this very well,” DeSantis said. “I think that is something that you take into consideration.”

Despite near-identical death-per capita figures and a similar regional approach to reopening, there are a handful of significant differences between the two governors' responses.

Beaches

The debate over the opening and closing of beaches became a flashpoint in the larger fight over lockdowns. Despite large crowds, DeSantis left beach closures up to individual localities, and has repeatedly cited studies indicating the risks of outdoor transmission are low as long as individuals stay six feet apart from people not in their quarantine groups.

Newsom, meanwhile, reportedly considered shutting down beaches across the state due to large crowds, but finally settled on only ordering the closure of beaches in Orange County for a few days. This move spawned animated protests.

Nursing homes

Along with New York and New Jersey, California has a policy in place that orders nursing homes to take in "medically-stable" COVID-19 patients seeking assisted living in order to ease the burden on hospitals. New York has since reversed this policy after linking it to increased spread of the virus in nursing homes.

Florida implemented a policy barring hospitals from discharging patients to the state's nursing homes — a measure DeSantis credits for keeping the state's overall death toll low.