TAMPA, Fla — Florida saw one of the largest jumps in COVID-19 coronavirus cases on the same day Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a statewide stay-at-home order.
"It worries me! I hate to see those numbers climb every day," said Dr. Janice Zgibor with the University of South Florida Public Health.
Zgibor fears Florida is nowhere close to reaching its peak because it took too long to implement an order across the state. That could've flattened the curve much sooner.
"Given what we've seen around the world and around the country I'm not surprised. I was really happy to hear the governor's order today," Zgibor said.
Despite weeks of hesitation, DeSantis finally signed an executive order to keep people home, but states like California made the announcement weeks ago.
"California was the first state to do it," Lee Riley said.
Riley, a professor at the University of California Berkeley, said California Gov. Gavin Newsom's order is helping the state reach its peak sooner.
"I think this is going to progress maybe another week or so and then we might see a reversal in the trend," Riley said.
With more than 8,000 positive COVID-19 cases in California, Florida is close behind.
"Just looking at the data, it looks like you start to see the effects in a couple of weeks, it may take a little longer given the rapid increase that we're seeing right now. I think it's very dependent on human behavior," Zgibor said.
She wishes a statewide order would've come down sooner.
"I don't think it's ever too late. I wish we would've done it earlier, but I don't think we're ever too late. I think whenever we can intervene to prevent a case or a death its worthwhile," Zgibor said.
DeSantis' order should last for 30 days and goes into effect on Friday, April 3.
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