Texas, Florida and NY. A closer look at 3 states for COVID

[757690]

An obvious factor that is constantly ignored is that LA and NY are international travel hubs, they are were pretty much everyone coming to this country must go through. And most tourists stay in LA and NY, they are by far the most popular tourist destinations. That likely accounts for the high numbers there, sick tourists coming over and spreading it.

I live in LA and this theory is backed up by what I see. The people in LA not wearing mask, not social distancing are overwhelmingly tourists, they are easy to notice and are everywhere.

Another data point that backs this up is San Francisco. They have had the same guidelines and protocols in place and have have a tiny fraction of the cases and deaths of LA. If they had LAX, I am rather certain that they would have similar numbers as LA.

[Boston Red]

More tourists in LA than Florida? During the pandemic?

[RedTeamGo!]

Florida has less than average death rate even though they have one of the most vulnerable populations. Why not compare California to NY

My wife had a question about this with regard to Florida, and perhaps you can shed light on it:

A childhood friend of hers lives in Tampa. Her and her mother moved there in the 90s. She spoke to her recently and she was very frustrated because her mother is at risk, and she feels like she can never leave her home because of how lax the restrictions are in Florida. My wife asked if a lot of elderly in Florida feel the same way and she said every older Floridian she knows basically never leaves their home because they are terrified to do so. Not just because of the virus, but because of the lack of restrictions. So my wife’s question is: Is Florida’s numbers really that much better or are the older Floridians just not leaving their homes while the younger Floridians are running around without a care in the world, old people be damned? Are the younger people spreading it around and just not getting tested? I find it hard to believe florida is just naturally more immune to a highly contagious virus. Only thing that would make sense if everyone has already had it.

[757690]

More tourists in LA than Florida? During the pandemic?

If Disney World is closed, absolutely. And probably even if not. Foreign tourists are here, all the time, all year round.

Just looked it up: 7.5M foreign tourists to LA each year, 4.5 to Florida. Plus, LA is a city, Florida is a state.

[Boston Red]

7.5M foreign tourists to LA most years. But not this year I don't suspect. And Disney World is open. Disney Land is not.

[757690]

7.5M foreign tourists to LA most years. But not this year I don't suspect. And Disney World is open. Disney Land is not.

Disney World is now open, at greatly reduced capacity, but it was closed most of 2020. And foreign tourists don’t come to LA to go to Disney Land. If they do Disney, it’s Disney World. If you’ve been to both. you know why.

Both LA and Fla tourism were hit hard by Covid, but LA started with nearly twice as many foreign tourists. Florida absolutely gets more domestic tourism, but LA gets the foreign tourists, who are the problem. Plus, much of Florida’s foreign tourism comes from Canada, not much of a Covid problem.

[Boston Red]

Disney World reopened July 11. Maybe there's still a lot of foreign tourism into LA, but I would be surprised. Domestically, I certainly haven't heard anyone say how great an idea it would be to go to California (or New York) this past year. I've certainly heard of a lot of people going to Florida.

Given the U.S.'s standing in the world Covid "ratings", I think domestic tourism would be a greater cause for concern than foreign tourism anyway. At least after about May 1 of last year. And particularly coming from Asia.

[757690]

Disney World reopened July 11. Maybe there's still a lot of foreign tourism into LA, but I would be surprised. Domestically, I certainly haven't heard anyone say how great an idea it would be to go to California (or New York) this past year. I've certainly heard of a lot of people going to Florida.

Domestic tourism is not the problem. Here in LA, the foriegn tourists aren’t actually tourists, they are here hoping to relocate, so they are here much longer.

More importantly, the foreigners who come to this country, regardless of what state they end up in, mostly come through either NYC or LA. Which explains why those two cities, and not other cities in the same states, have been hot spots.

[Boston Red]

I don't understand why foreign tourists are a bigger issue than domestic tourists. Per capita, the US only beats out a handful of countries worldwide in Covid cases. So an American is much more likely to be carrying Covid than a foreigner, no? I would think we'd be much more worried about American travelers than foreign ones. Again, at least after the very early stages of this last summer when there was only the tiniest bit of international travel being allowed anyway.

[JaxRed]

My wife had a question about this with regard to Florida, and perhaps you can shed light on it:

A childhood friend of hers lives in Tampa. Her and her mother moved there in the 90s. She spoke to her recently and she was very frustrated because her mother is at risk, and she feels like she can never leave her home because of how lax the restrictions are in Florida. My wife asked if a lot of elderly in Florida feel the same way and she said every older Floridian she knows basically never leaves their home because they are terrified to do so. Not just because of the virus, but because of the lack of restrictions. So my wife’s question is: Is Florida’s numbers really that much better or are the older Floridians just not leaving their homes while the younger Floridians are running around without a care in the world, old people be damned? Are the younger people spreading it around and just not getting tested? I find it hard to believe florida is just naturally more immune to a highly contagious virus. Only thing that would make sense if everyone has already had it.

Who knows. Your friend feels that way and probably assumes everyone feels the same as her.

[757690]

I don't understand why foreign tourists are a bigger issue than domestic tourists. Per capita, the US only beats out a handful of countries worldwide in Covid cases. So an American is much more likely to be carrying Covid than a foreigner, no? I would think we'd be much more worried about American travelers than foreign ones. Again, at least after the very early stages of this last summer when there was only the tiniest bit of international travel being allowed anyway.

International travel has been allowed for most of the pandemic. There were restrictions off and on, and I don't think it's a coincidence that LA had it's spikes after the restrictions were relaxed.

[Sea Ray]

My wife had a question about this with regard to Florida, and perhaps you can shed light on it:

A childhood friend of hers lives in Tampa. Her and her mother moved there in the 90s. She spoke to her recently and she was very frustrated because her mother is at risk, and she feels like she can never leave her home because of how lax the restrictions are in Florida. My wife asked if a lot of elderly in Florida feel the same way and she said every older Floridian she knows basically never leaves their home because they are terrified to do so. Not just because of the virus, but because of the lack of restrictions. So my wife’s question is: Is Florida’s numbers really that much better or are the older Floridians just not leaving their homes while the younger Floridians are running around without a care in the world, old people be damned? Are the younger people spreading it around and just not getting tested? I find it hard to believe florida is just naturally more immune to a highly contagious virus. Only thing that would make sense if everyone has already had it.

The formula from the get go should have been protect the vulnerable and let everyone else live their lives with common sense. In other words quarantine the elderly but don't close the beaches

[goreds2]

Disney World is now open, at greatly reduced capacity, but it was closed most of 2020. And foreign tourists don’t come to LA to go to Disney Land. If they do Disney, it’s Disney World. If you’ve been to both. you know why.

.

When I was at Disney World amusement parks last week, it was about at 35% capacity as advertised. I will say that the Orlando, FL airport was packed though when I arrived and departed. The plane was full both times.

[757690]

International travel has been allowed for most of the pandemic. There were restrictions off and on, and I don't think it's a coincidence that LA had it's spikes after the restrictions were relaxed.

I just want to clarify.

The main problem NYC and LA faced was at the beginning of the pandemic, before we knew much, and before restrictions were put into place. The virus came from overseas, and likely the people who brought it came through NYC and LA first.

These two cities were likely the ground zeros for this pandemic, it likely started in these two cites, and spread first there before anyone knew what was happening. So it’s logical that they would have the highest numbers, by a lot, over everywhere else, even cities in their own states.

[oneupper]

When I was at Disney World amusement parks last week, it was about at 35% capacity as advertised. I will say that the Orlando, FL airport was packed though when I arrived and departed. The plane was full both times.

I was in Orlando last weekend. For a wedding (bride, groom, priest, deacon and us...all with masks). When we left and drove past Gatorland on the way home, we saw bedlam. Lines and lines of people waiting get in. Most with masks but No social distancing at all.
Down in Miami Beach...lots of concern. It's out of control, not only with the lack of compliance with restrictions (DeSantis doesn't allow fines to be enforced), but crime. Mayor wants to shut down the whole entertainment district...permanently.