I was talking with my daughter Katie yesterday and she continues to be baffled and upset by the COVID-19 response in Florida. The restaurant she is working in at the moment (since Space 220 is still on pause) is running at full hours and full capacity. This is the norm when you venture out and about in Central Florida vs. many places in the rest of the country where restaurants are to-go only and restrictions are getting tighter. The thought of giving up that Disney dream and moving home is something that has crossed her mind more than once.
Florida has now passed One Million positive COVID-19 cases making it only the third state to reach such catastrophic levels right behind Texas and California. Yet, last week in a press conference Florida Governor Ron DeSanits reiterated that he would not shut down the State for health and safety reasons, that there would be "no lockdowns, no fines, no school closures. No one's losing their job because of a government dictate. Nobody's losing their livelihood or their business." However, in the same session he also praised Disney and the Theme Park Industry for keeping everyone safe and curbing the spread because "theme parks have not led to any type of major outbreaks." ... ... ... So obviously he knows that the measures they took work. He's just not willing to take on the responsibility himself to put them in place on a state-wide level.
Continuing to live in his own personal Fantasyland, DeSanits said that the Disney layoffs are "Mostly In California" which is just not true because as we know that at least 18,000 cast members have been laid off from Walt Disney World.
I'm sorry, if I sound mad at DeSantis. I'm just worried about my daughter and frustrated that I don't feel that it's safe for me to hop on a plane and go visit her right now. If you are headed to Florida soon and you are going to leave Disney property please please please be aware of what's going on in the State and protect yourself as much as possible.