Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is issuing a “stay-at-home” order for the southernmost part of his state – the latest in a string of governors — including Virginia’s and Maryland’s — to do so. Suffice it to say, America waits for a new normal as COVID-19 continues to spread nationwide.
To date, 5,000 confirmed cases raised the alarm on the fast spread in the bottom of the state, which focused the lockdown on four counties that make up 58% of Florida’s population. DeSantis held a presser to deliver the gloomy news:
“The ‘Safer-At-Home’ [order] is the right move for southeast Florida. This is the time to do the right thing. Listen to all of your local officials … We will do this through the middle of May, and then see where we’re at.”
The governor also slammed the door to folks escaping New York and Louisiana by issuing a 14-day self-quarantine edict on travelers, in effect closing state borders. No state has called in the National Guard yet, but citizens will not happily follow the seemingly unending halt of free and regular pursuits of happiness for much longer.
Is this where our country is headed for the unforeseeable future?
Follow the Leader
DeSantis has been chided by some of his state’s congressional delegation for not ordering a shelter in place for the entire state. Besides finally closing beaches to spring break travelers, and shuttering dining in bars and restaurants, DeSantis’ new order is for only the state’s southeast region. Other states have already hung the “closed” sign and have ordered all but non-essential workers to stay home.
Indiana closed bars and restaurants statewide on March 16, followed by a two-week home-stay edict in effect until April 7 (pushed to April 30 for now). Virginia Governor Ralph Northam has directed Virginians to stay home except to buy groceries, seek medical care, work, and exercise or get fresh air outdoors. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan issued nearly the same directive. Both Northam and Hogan have set June 10 as a review date, and Hogan did not mince words:
“This is a public health crisis. We are no longer asking or suggesting that Marylanders stay at home. We are directing them to do so.”
We Aren’t There Yet
Americans are concerned and, for the most part, following the guidelines and orders federal and state governments put out. But this lifestyle will not be nipped up hook, line, and sinker. Not here – not in this independent-minded country. But add another 60 days to the stir-crazy, toilet-paper-hoarding crowd — out of work, out of patience, out of money — and there could be a need to round up the troops and declare martial law.
In Europe, tensions are high over the government orders to isolate. Liberty Nation‘s Managing Editor Mark Angelides, who lives in Yorkshire, England, reports an ominous feeling throughout the citizenry:
“Italy is under martial law, France has yet to institute a curfew but doesn’t seem far off, and Spain is under martial law in all but name. Britain appears to be weighing up making the ‘shelter-at-home’ policy stricter, and police are issuing fines to folks out for a walk. The scariest aspect is that neighbors are turning each other in on a state website designed for just such a task.”
Neighbors turning against one another hasn’t quite happened in the United States, but can our time be far off in the current climate facing this little-understood enemy? I shudder to think that we can’t be let out of our isolation cages by June 1.
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Read more from Sarah Cowgill.
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