COVID-19: Florida versus Australia

Using some basic researching skill (Google and Wikipedia) I learned that the Florida population is around 22 million people. I also noticed that Australia has a population of around 26 million people. What is really astounding to me is that the Florida COVID-19 death toll is more than 34,000, whereas the Australian COVID death toll is less than 1,000.

Obviously the difference in land sizes does not make this a perfect comparison, but when one reviews how the governor of Florida continues to handle this oncein-a-lifetime pandemic versus how the Australian government has handled it, the comparison is striking. We have similar populations yet roughly 34 times the number of deaths.

If that is not a failure of leadership, I’m not sure what is. It boils down to priorities. In my opinion there is little doubt that Gov. DeSantis’ priorities have not included the Florida COVID death count.

John Gilliam Orlando