Here’s How Well Florida Complies With Stay-At-Home Order

FLORIDA — As the spread of coronavirus accelerated in recent weeks, more and more Americans have come under state or local stay-at-home orders and advisories, until this past weekend more than 95 percent of the population was affected. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an order that took effect Friday directing Floridians to remain home unless they are engaged in "essential services" and "essential activities."

The purpose of these orders and advisories is to minimize the spread of the virus, which is highly contagious, although the scope of the orders varies by state and locality. Compliance with them varies widely, too, as Google has demonstrated with its community mobility reports, and by the business data firm Cuebiq, which compiled its COVID-19 Mobility Insights. Both aggregate location data from cellphones to track the movements of large numbers of people.

As of March 29, Google reports that nationwide movement to retail and recreational locations, including restaurants, shopping centers, movie theaters and the like, dropped 47 percent against a baseline set for the weeks Jan. 3 to Feb. 6.

Travel to groceries and pharmacies fell 22 percent; to parks, to beaches and gardens 19 percent; to transport hubs such as bus and train stations, 51 percent; and to workplaces 42 percent. Mobility to places of residence showed the only increase, of 16 percent.

In Florida — where the stay-at-home order is set to expire on April 30 unless extended — compliance is similar to the national average. DeSantis said he wants to make sure senior citizens stay home because COVID-19 affects older residents, and ones with underlying health conditions, more seriously.

As of March 29, Google reports that statewide movement to Florida retail and recreational locations dropped 50 percent against the baseline. Travel to groceries and pharmacies fell 26 percent; to transit hubs and similar locations dropped 63 percent; travel to workplaces down 41 percent, and travel to parks, beaches and gardens dropped 48 percent. Mobility to places of residence increased 13 percent.

For updates on the coronavirus in Florida, get Patch news alerts.

In general, compliance is higher in urban areas of the Northeast, upper Midwest and West Coast than in rural areas, the South and the Great Plains.

The data comes with several important caveats:

• Tracking location does not show how often or how closely people come into contact with each other, and is not necessarily a predictor of infection.
• Rural residents often must travel farther to get groceries or other necessities, while city dwellers don’t have to move far to infect others.
• Higher-income residents often are able to comply more easily than low-income residents, whose jobs do not always allow them to work from home.

But public health experts agree that abiding by stay-at-home orders and advisories is critical to slowing the spread of the virus, or in “flattening the curve” of infection. Such measures are deemed so important that authorities have instructed police to break up large gatherings of people, and even begun arresting those who violate stay-at-home orders.

The methodology of the Google report can be found at the end of this document.

Related:

• Coronavirus In FL: 11,111 Cases, 191 Deaths
• Florida Sheriff's Deputy Dies From Coronavirus
• St. Pete Sets Up Fighting Chance Fund For Impacted Businesses
• Coronavirus: Florida Unemployment Claims Cripple State's System