FLORIDA

[bbtondo]

1 hour ago, ronrick1943 said:

No they had the information, just didn't do anything---business was more important that life I guess.

I agree with this for the entire United States.  This country should have done so many things way before they did. It wasn't a secret what was happening in China and then Europe.  

[BBWC]

 

34 minutes ago, sierrafloridacruiser said:

https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/23/us/california-stay-at-home-beach-goers/index.html

Totally different situation as we are talking about government officials not willing to act. In the case you cite, the necessary stay at home orders were already in effect, but some people chose to ignore them. Since people could not be relied upon to act as adults, they then had to close the beaches. But again, our governor and local officials acted.

[jeb_bud]

20 hours ago, sierrafloridacruiser said:

https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/23/us/california-stay-at-home-beach-goers/index.html

Old news.

[Travelcat2]

If the stay at home orders were in effect and thousands of young people were at the beach, why didn't the police go to the beaches and clear them?  They likely would have done that if there was alcohol and drugs but did not even try to break up the crowds.  

[CardinalLover]

I have been using Cruise Critic for 6+ years; reading boards and availing myself of the plethora of information on this site. I've never felt the need to sign up for an account or comment on any posting until now.

My observation---

 

Quite a remarkable group of Monday Morning Quarterbacks posting on this particular thread.  

[UUNetBill]

3 minutes ago, CardinalLover said:

I have been using Cruise Critic for 6+ years; reading boards and availing myself of the plethora of information on this site. I've never felt the need to sign up for an account or comment on any posting until now.

My observation---

 

Quite a remarkable group of Monday Morning Quarterbacks posting on this particular thread.  

So six years of lurking and the first post you make is critical of people posting their opinions?  You'd think after six years you'd know how these forums are...

[Wendy The Wanderer]

On 4/4/2020 at 6:57 PM, JIMinNC said:

On the spring break thing, in all fairness to Florida, the situation moved so quickly it's easy to forget the dates and how rapidly the whole thing evolved. Most of those pictures of spring breakers partying were the first couple weeks of March. Remember, the NBA didn't stop their games until March 11 and the NCAA canceled March Madness right after that on the 12 or 13 of March, as I recall. So the first 10 -12 days of March, not only were the kids partying on beach, but 20,000 people were still going to sports events and concerts, and restaurants and bars were still open. Even New York didn't close restaurants until around the 15th or 16th. By the weekend of March 20-22, I believe most Florida beaches had been closed. Hindsight is always 20-20, but things were moving pretty fast in mid-March. Perhaps Florida should have moved a few days sooner, but it appears their delay in taking action was really only a few days. 

 

Yes, I totally agree.  We were watching this unfold in the Tampa Bay area, and in mid-March it was just rumblings.  The (usually huge) St. Patrick's Day parade in Dunedin got cancelled just a couple of days before the 17th, and that day the local Irish pub was still loaded with people.  The next day bars with the wrong licenses stopped selling booze, and by the end of that week most restaurants were operating at 50% capacity.

Meanwhile March break had just started that same week.  Physical distancing guidelines were not really in place.  Just massive event cancellations.  

 

What I did observe was that the state government was very slow to react.  The county and city governments stepped up and made their own rules.  The overall leadership in the state has been appalling.

[mrlevin]

As of this morning:

 

Cases per 1,000,000 residents

 

Washington. 1,149

Florida  704

Texas 290

 

Deaths per 1,000,000 residents

 

Washington 52

Florida. 14

Texas. 5

 

Yes, the higher case count in Washington could be due to testing; however, the death rate is a telling statistic.

 

This thread should have been closed down a long time ago as it is political in nature and not about cruising.

 

Marc

[tripperva]

I agree with Marc. This thread was trashed by politics. I hope those Florida bashers will stick with Regent and do come back to Florida for great embarkations. NBC News with Lester Holt last night did a piece showing big crowds bunched in at the Farmers Market in Los Angeles,his point being that the west coast is not exempt from criticism. I look forward to many more happy cruises with all of you.

[Travelcat2]

Since I live in Washington state, I watch the local news a lot.  Washington did have the first case of coronavirus and the first death.  This was followed by many cases and deaths at one particular extended care living facility.  According to our Governor, we have "apparently" leveled off.  We continue to have strict guidelines. So, if Washington goes the way that China did, we should be the first to be able to lift the bans (fingers crossed).

 

You may recall that Washington sent around 400 respirators to New York.  While we remain at home, the stores are pretty full (even toilet paper) and we can get just about anything that we want at the market.  Large stores like Walmart are allowing 20% of their capacity in the same time while markets are allowing up to 50% of their capacity.  There are lines on the sidewalk indicating where to stand so that you are 6' from the person in front or behind you.  Isles are becoming one way.  I mention this because the government has repeatedly used Washington as an example of what people should be doing right now.

 

tripperva- I do not consider myself a "Florida basher" but you must admit that the Spring Break photos that went viral in the U.S., did little to make Florida look as if they have things handled.  No state is perfect but, in the case of handling the coronavirus, Florida has been the poster child of what not to do.  If I wanted to bash anyone it would be the young people that completely refuse to abide by any guidelines.  Their behavior has killed many people!

 

Since we are discussing Florida, I feel that the port of Miami has become too crowded (as has MIA Airport).  Departing or arriving in Miami has not been a pleasant experience.  It is our hope that a port on the West Coast (possibly Seattle but could be San Diego or ???) is build so that the crunch of too many cruise ships in Miami can be relieved.  

 

It is interesting that Marc choose to compare Washington with Texas (and Florida).  One would think that a better comparison would be Washington, Los Angeles and New York that were epicenters for the virus.  

 

What remains a puzzlement to me is that warmer states, in general, tend to have less cases.  Obviously, Louisiana is an exception.  I have to wonder if Mardi Gras gave the coronavirus a start and that it grew from there.

 

All any of us can do is  guess as to what is going on and what the future will look like.  

[Wendy The Wanderer]

30 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

What remains a puzzlement to me is that warmer states, in general, tend to have less cases.

 

On what data do you base this assertion?  Here are figures that I quoted on Facebook yesterday, comparing Canada to Florida:

 

Here's the April 6th figures adapted from Worldometer for Canada (and "/M" means per million):

               Cases    Deaths  Cases/M Deaths/M Tests/M
Canada 15,853   293           420        8                  8,767

 

Here are the numbers for Florida:

Florida  13,324    236          647       11                5,675

I removed some of the data and simplified to make it easier to read. Florida has a population of roughly 22M, Canada 38M.

 

And here are today's numbers for Ecuador, just for comparison.  Largely a hot country (Guayaquil is the epicenter and it is tropical):

 

Ecuador

3,747

191

11

13,039

739

 

 

They have about 17 Million people.

Edited April 7, 2020 by Wendy The Wanderer

[JIMinNC]

21 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

What remains a puzzlement to me is that warmer states, in general, tend to have less cases.  Obviously, Louisiana is an exception.  I have to wonder if Mardi Gras gave the coronavirus a start and that it grew from there.

 

All any of us can do is  guess as to what is going on and what the future will look like.  

 

My understanding from my reading is that most viruses spread more slowly in warm/hot temperatures since UV light and heat/humidity reduce the life span of the virus, slowing its spread. That could easily explain while warmer climates have fewer cases - the virus can't spread quite as easily there, but it still spreads; so when you have a major party event like Fat Tuesday in New Orleans, with crowded conditions, the virus gets a big helping hand and can spread quite freely despite the warmer temps.

 

 

 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

14 minutes ago, JIMinNC said:

 

My understanding from my reading is that most viruses spread more slowly in warm/hot temperatures since UV light and heat/humidity reduce the life span of the virus, slowing its spread. That could easily explain while warmer climates have fewer cases - the virus can't spread quite as easily there, but it still spreads; so when you have a major party event like Fat Tuesday in New Orleans, with crowded conditions, the virus gets a big helping hand and can spread quite freely despite the warmer temps.

 

It's not hot in New Orleans in February.

 

And if you look at hot countries, the result depends on the public health response and the health care system of that country or area.  As I said above, Guayaquil in Ecuador is hot and tropical but is the epicentre of the virus in that country, with graveyards full.

Edited April 7, 2020 by Wendy The Wanderer

[JIMinNC]

11 minutes ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 

On what data do you base this assertion?  Here are figures that I quoted on Facebook yesterday, comparing Canada to Florida:

 

Here's the April 6th figures adapted from Worldometer for Canada (and "/M" means per million):

               Cases    Deaths  Cases/M Deaths/M Tests/M
Canada 15,853   293           420        8                  8,767

 

Here are the numbers for Florida:

Florida  13,324    236          647       11                5,675

I removed some of the data and simplified to make it easier to read. Florida has a population of roughly 22M, Canada 38M.

 

And here are today's numbers for Ecuador, just for comparison.  Largely a hot country (Guayaquil is the epicenter and it is tropical):

 

Ecuador

3,747

191

11

13,039

739

 

 

They have about 17 Million people.

 

There are likely variables other than just temperature that contribute to the numbers in Canada vs. Florida vs. Ecuador - some possibilities include - population density/lots of people living in close quarters, average age,  degree to which the population is social distancing, etc. So, as I see it, just the numbers alone don't prove or disprove how big a factor temperature might be. Most of the scientists seem to think there is likely some correlation between temperature and ease of spread, they just can't quantify how strong that correlation is compared to the other variables.

[wcsdkqh]

These comparisons are absurd. Without factoring in population density, these comparisons are meaningless. Time the the state vs state pissing contests to end.

[JIMinNC]

10 minutes ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

It's not hot in New Orleans in February.

 

From mid-February through March 2020, New Orleans had several days with cooler highs only in the 50s-60s, but many/most days during that period were in the 70s and 80s, particularly in March when the community spread really began in earnest. So not "hot" by New Orleans standards, but certainly warmer than most places where Covid19 has spread easily. The degree to which many poor New Orleans residents live in close quarters, plus the impact of Fat Tuesday, means that area is a prime place for spread despite any impact the warmer temps my have in slightly slowing the spread.

 

https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/new-orleans/70112/march-weather/348585?year=2020

Edited April 7, 2020 by JIMinNC

[tripperva]

2 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

Since we are discussing Florida, I feel that the port of Miami has become too crowded (as has MIA Airport).  Departing or arriving in Miami has not been a pleasant experience.  

A couple years ago, Seabourn moved all Caribbean departures and arrivals to Barbados. That may change, but right now their cruises begin and end away from Florida.

[ronrick1943]

2 hours ago, tripperva said:

I agree with Marc. This thread was trashed by politics. I hope those Florida bashers will stick with Regent and do come back to Florida for great embarkations. NBC News with Lester Holt last night did a piece showing big crowds bunched in at the Farmers Market in Los Angeles,his point being that the west coast is not exempt from criticism. I look forward to many more happy cruises with all of you.

It's not about the crowds, it's what the Gov. of Gloria said, I don't want to unload people from the ship that aren't residents of Florida-because I don't want to fill up our hospitals.  Real caring?????????

[Travelcat2]

1 hour ago, tripperva said:

A couple years ago, Seabourn moved all Caribbean departures and arrivals to Barbados. That may change, but right now their cruises begin and end away from Florida.

 

That is good to know.  Thank you for sharing this information.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

5 hours ago, tripperva said:

A couple years ago, Seabourn moved all Caribbean departures and arrivals to Barbados. That may change, but right now their cruises begin and end away from Florida.

 

Yeah, I often that was very inconvenient, frankly.

[Mudhen]

I've actually looked at the Barbados departures. As silly as this sounds, we can't get a direct flight to Barbados (and return) from Newark airport. Yes, you can get it out of Kennedy, but if you're at all familiar with our metropolitan area, Kennedy is a fate worse than death. Even our usual "driver" won't go out to Kennedy. So for us, it's a no  go. Saint Martaan....maybe.

[Ladys Mom]

56 minutes ago, Mudhen said:

I've actually looked at the Barbados departures. As silly as this sounds, we can't get a direct flight to Barbados (and return) from Newark airport. Yes, you can get it out of Kennedy, but if you're at all familiar with our metropolitan area, Kennedy is a fate worse than death. Even our usual "driver" won't go out to Kennedy. So for us, it's a no  go. Saint Martaan....maybe.

I understand your desire for a direct flight.  We live outside of Birmingham AL and there are virtually no direct flights anywhere.  We have just got used to driving to Atlanta (2 hrs) or flying to Atlanta to connect to our long haul flight.  Changing to Barbados, if it were safer, would be preferable to Florida.

[Sheltieluv]

I I wish Regent would consider using West Palm Beach as its home port!  

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I preferred it when they used Fort Lauderdale.

[Pam]

Ft Lauderdale was an easy port, I haven't cruised out of Miami yet.