Is Florida canceled for 2020?
Why it’s dumbfounding that some Floridians still won’t wear a mask
As a native Floridian, I’ve mostly enjoyed the nation’s lighthearted banter over the notorious “Florida Man.” Like the guy who carried a rattlesnake while claiming to be an agent of God. And the lady who hid a baby alligator from cops in her yoga pants during a traffic stop. If you need a laugh amid the coronavirus news, check out this fantastic compilation of Florida Man headlines.
While it certainly has its quirks, for the most part, I enjoy living in Florida for the lifestyle benefits it affords me — miles of beautiful beaches, hundreds of gorgeous and cooling springs, and sunshine. But watching my fellow Floridians arguing over whether or not to wear a mask as Florida becomes a coronavirus outbreak epicenter is dumbfounding for reasons beyond the obvious, most important goal of avoiding sickness and keeping at-risk members of our communities safe.
Florida is (very) dependent on tourism for our economy to thrive.
In 2018, Florida hosted approximately 112 million domestic visitors, 10 million international visitors, and 3 million Canadian visitors who spent a collective $94 billion. According to an economic study conducted by VISITFLORIDA, over 1.5 million jobs, including direct, indirect, and downstream employment, and over $26 billion in tax receipts came into the state via tourism in 2018.
Tourists travel to destinations where they feel safe.
The “I’ll do me, and you do you” attitude won’t work in Florida, which relies on people feeling safe enough to visit for our livelihood. So we all need to care what the rest of the country and world think of our coronavirus response and efforts to contain it. Even if you initially believed masks were inconvenient and ineffective, science now shows that wearing one keeps you and others safe. So at this point, it’s likely to mean trouble for the economic health of our entire state if COVID-19 numbers continue to increase, and vacationers don’t feel safe visiting because we’d rather argue about masks than put one on.
Science and economists seem to agree- wearing masks could help us avoid disaster.
Because of technology, we all have access to information as it evolves. We can hear from epidemiologists about new research about the disease and methods to minimize it. And from economists on our economic health in light of world-wide shutdowns and stay at home orders.
What health and economic experts seem to agree on is that not minimizing the spread of the disease could spell disaster. With so much at stake, I don’t envy local and federal government officials as they work to strike a delicate balance between minimizing the spread of the disease to protect people and spurring the economy to prevent a long-lasting economic disaster. But if a mask could save thousands of lives and fast-track an economic rebound for my state, I’ll gladly put one on.
Sooner or later, this will affect us all.
While my industry isn’t directly affected by tourism, it depends on networking at events and trade shows locally and abroad. Right now, none of the places my colleaugues and I need to go are accepting Floridians without quarantine upon arrival. And even if people wanted to visit Florida from other states or countries, most don’t have enough vacation to devote the two weeks of self-quarantine required by some destinations after their trip.
So while you might not be directly impacted by not wearing a mask and spreading the virus, many of the rest of us (and our industries) are. It’s only a matter of time before your job and life are also impacted by Florida having the cooties, and the whole state gets canceled for the foreseeable future.
In short, if you don’t have a medical condition that would make you worse off by wearing one, would you please consider wearing a mask? If not for your physical health, for your economic health.
