Don’t be a Florida Man and bungle reopening

Two months ago we took a deep plunge into the unknown.

In the span of just a few days in midMarch, Disney World announced it was closing its doors, businesses started sending people home (with or without a job), schools extended spring break to keep kids and teachers at home, the governor closed bars and nightclubs. And more Floridians were getting sick and dying.

It was a frightening, disorienting time. But we wrote back then that Central Florida would meet the challenge.

While this isn’t over — not by a long shot — the region did the right things.

People stayed home. They didn’t go out a lot. And when they did, they kept their distance. They looked after others and were (mostly) kind. They washed their hands. And by nearly any measure, Floridians flattened the curve for new cases of coronavirus (though the number of deaths on some days remains shockingly high, and some of the data suspect).

Now, local and state officials are moving to reopen the state’s economy. Gov. Ron DeSantis recently allowed restaurants and many other businesses to operate at 25% of capacity, along with libraries and museums. On Monday he allowed barbershops and salons to reopen under certain conditions, and Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings lifted a curfew.

But just because everyday life is making a slow, calculated turn toward normal, this is no time to start acting like “Florida Man,” the news caricature whose buffoonery and bad decisions generate national headlines.

For example, the guy who went on a profanity-laced tirade outside a Publix in Miami because he had to wear a mask.

Or the beachgoers in Naples who refused to practice social distancing, forcing the city to once again close its shores.

Or the Ocala mayor who instructed the city’s police chief to not enforce the governor’s social distancing orders.

Don’t be like them, because if this slow awakening of the economy is going to work it’s going to require everyone to be responsible and follow some simple rules:

■ Plenty of people were out strolling on Park Avenue in Winter Park on Mother’s Day, and plenty of those weren’t wearing face coverings. Yes, the masks look goofy. But their main function isn’t to protect you — they protect others if you’re infected, even though you may not know it.

Wear them for the sake of others.

■ When people are around, take the initiative to maintain the recommended 6-foot separation. Don’t be like those beachgoers in Naples.

■ The governor continues to discourage large-group gatherings, where infections are more easily spread. But a funeral in Orlando this weekend had mourners packed shoulderto-shoulder in the church’s pews. We understand the desire for communal grieving, but that doesn’t provide anyone with immunity from disease. Whether church services, graduations or birthday parties, large groups are a dangerous environment during a pandemic.

■ Just because restaurants and stores are open doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to head out at every opportunity. The infection curve flattened in large part because people going out much. People were staying home even before local officials started issuing orders. That was the responsible thing to do then and it’s the responsible thing to do now.

■ This simple task remains the single best way to prevent the spread of infection. Hands are, as one person described it, little limousines for virus to get from place to place.

The public often disagrees about the appropriate role of government, and its effectiveness. Here in Florida, the state government’s initial response was too slow and too erratic. It’s gotten better, and we find little to fault with DeSantis’ generally cautious approach to winding up the economy. The federal pandemic response has been and remains a confused disaster, and no amount of partisan spin or finger-pointing can change that fact.

The coronavirus is different. No matter what actions governments takes or fails to take, controlling the spread remains largely in the hands of people and the individual decisions they make to either be a good citizen, or be Florida Man.

Be a good citizen. Don’t be Florida Man.