COVID-19 For many Canadian snowbirds, Florida feels like home. It’s why most Florida good news, bad news, quirky news and important news is inevitably interesting, important, relatable and snowbird-relevant. For snowbirds, what happens in Florida matters! After all, in any normal year, the state’s tourism-dependent economy relies on more than 3.5 million Canadians (500,000 snowbirds) flocking to the Sunshine State and spending $6.5 billion on all things Florida. Of course, by no stretch of any measure has it been a normal year − for the world and for Florida snowbirds. It’s why, at the start of the 2021 season, many snowbirds closely monitored Florida’s ever-changing COVID situation while weighing go-or-don’t-go options. FLORIDA’S HEAVYWEIGHT COVID FIGHT Governor Ron DeSantis gets public opinion high marks by John Hardy POMPANO BEACH, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 16: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) looks on as Vera Leip, 88, receives a Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine from Christine Philips, RN Florida Department of Health in Broward County, at the John Knox Village Continuing Care Retirement Community on December 16, 2020 in Pompano Beach, Florida. The facility, one of the first in the country to do so, vaccinated approximately 170 people including healthcare workers and elder care people. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) CSANews | SPRING 2021 | 43
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