Table 1.
Chronology of key events during the COVID-19 pandemic in Florida.
| Date | Key events in Florida | CDC and federal guidance | FL DOH guidance | Governor actions Executive orders |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ||||
| January 17 | CDC briefing on novel coronavirus (16) | |||
| January 21 | FL DOH initiates STEPS plan (17) |
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| January 31 | Monitoring of passengers arriving from China (18) | |||
| February 28 | FDA Approved COVID-19 tests (19) |
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| March 1 | First 2 cases (20) | Public Health Emergency Declaration (4) | Executive order directs public health emergency (5) |
|
| March 7 | First 2 Deaths (21) | |||
| March 7 | Emergency Operation Center opened (22) | |||
| March 11 | Nursing home visitation suspended (23) | |||
| March 16 | K-12 Schools close for in-person education (24) | |||
| March 16 | Federal: 15 Days to Slow the Spread (25) |
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| March 17 | Bars and restaurants closed (26) | |||
| March 25 | Public health advisory issued (27) |
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| March 24 | Airport screening of arriving passengers, highway roadblocks (28) | |||
| April 1 | Safer-at-Home Order (29) | |||
| April 7 | One million doses of hydroxychloroquine ordered (30) | |||
| April 16 | ||||
| April 28 | Gov. DeSantis Press conference at White House (31) | |||
| April 29 | Reopening plan announced (32) | |||
| May 4 | 64 of 67 counties begin reopening (33) |
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| June 22 | Updated Public Health Advisory (34) | |||
| June 26 | Bars reclosed (35) | |||
| July 21 | Updated Public Health Advisory (36) | |||
| July 31 | One Florida-One Goal campaign (37) | |||
| July 6 | Order for return in-person instruction (38) | |||
| August | FL DOH school support plan (39) |
K-12 schools and universities reopen for in-person education (40) | ||
| August 31 | Scott Atlas visits FL and hold press conferences (41) | |||
| September 15 | CDC releases K-12 school COVID-19 guidelines (42) | |||
| September 24 | Press conference with Great Barrington Declaration originators (43) | |||
| September 25 | Fines for not wearing masks prohibited (44) | |||
| December 11 | Federal: FDA EUA approval for first mRNA vaccine (45) CDC issues recommendation for initial COVID-19 vaccines (46) |
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| December 14 | First person vaccinated (47) |
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| December 23 | State vaccine guidelines issued (48) |
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| December 30 | Cases per capita state rank: 24th (3) Deaths per capita state rank: 28th (3) |
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| 2021 | ||||
| January 21 | Order against vaccine tourism (49) | |||
| April 2 | Vaccine passports banned (50) | |||
| April 7 | DeSantis receives COVID-19 vaccine (51) | |||
| April 13 | Pres. Obama and Biden host vaccination event (52) | |||
| April 29 | State employees to return for in-person work (53) |
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| June 4 | Shift from daily to weekly COVID-19 reports (54) | |||
| June 24 | Condominium tower collapses (55) | |||
| June 26 | COVID-19 state of emergency expires (6) | |||
| June 30 | Cases per capita state rank: 20th (3) Deaths per capita state rank: 26th (3) |
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| May 10 | Vaccine approved for 12 years and older (56) |
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| July | Delta variant surge begins (57) | |||
| July 13 | Do not Fauci My Florida campaign (58) | |||
| July 30 | Bans mask mandates in schools (59) | |||
| August 6 | Rules for school year issued (40) |
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| August 15 | Monoclonal antibody sites open (60) | Early treatment saves lives campaign (61) | ||
| October 1 | Dr. Joseph Ladapo replaces Dr. Scott Rivkees as Surgeon General (62) | |||
| October 28 | Lawsuit against Biden vaccine mandates (63) |
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| November 2 | Vaccine approved for 5 years and older (56) |
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| November 11 | Vaccine mandates banned (64) | |||
| December 30 | Cases per capita state rank: 9th (3) Deaths per capita state rank: 10th (3) |
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| 2022 | ||||
| January | Omicron variant surge begins (65) | |||
| January 14 | Will not enforce mandatory vaccination for healthcare workers (66) |
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| January 24 | State closes monoclonal antibody sites (67) |
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| March 8 | Announces healthy children should not get vaccinated (68) |
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| June 18 | Vaccine approved for 6 months and older (56) | |||
| Only state not to preorder vaccine for young children (69) | ||||
| September 28 | Hurricane Ian (70) | |||
| October 7 | Advisory against vaccinating young adult men (71) |
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| December 13 | Grand jury to investigate vaccines (72) Public Health Integrity Committee announced (73) |
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| December 30 | Cases per capita state rank: 9th (3) Deaths per capita state rank: 10th (3) |
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| 2023 | ||||
| Advisory against vaccinating those less than 65 years (74) |
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| December 30 | Death pe capita state rank: 8th (3) |
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| 2024 | ||||
| January 3 | Advisory against use of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines for all ages (75) |
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