by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 3:14 PM ET, Thu August 6, 2020
On August 6, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis removed the order that required all travelers coming to Florida from New York, Connecticut and New Jersey to quarantine for 14 days.
According to CBS and The Associated Press, Republican Gov. DeSantis had originally mandated the 14-day quarantine for travelers from these states because of their high rates of infection, especially among New Yorkers. Now, however, New York's state-wide daily infection rate is just one-tenth of Florida's daily rate.
As the cases in Florida rose in June, the Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered his own mandate requiring residents from Florida and other southern states to quarantine upon arriving in New York.
Gov. DeSantis' new order also eases requirements for when restaurant staff should be kept home, stating that the state Department of Business and Professional Regulation should be held accountable for creating adequate screening protocol based on CDC information.
The previous order required restaurant staff to stay home and refrain from working should they be in contact with someone with COVID-19 if they have symptoms of the virus or had been to an airport or on a cruise within 14 days of working.
Florida's daily rate is now 7,650 new cases, with a total of 510,389 cases, the second-highest in the country after California. The death rate is second only to Texas according to this past week.
The state of Florida is also ramping up testing now that Tropical Storm Isaias has passed after having been shut down for three days. They have already logged 100,000 test results.
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