I'm glad I dont live in Florida.
AL here. Our governor issued a mask mandate this last Thursday, I believe. I've seen more masks in public, but still a third or more aren't bothering. Restaurants are stepping up, but people are still entering without them. Stores though, like the Dollar Store is 50/50. Staff there are also 50/50 and aren't bothered to enforce much. Or course that's totally a one-off thing when picking up cat food the same night, but there were a few grumbles I heard as people were walking in not wanting to wear a mask.
Local paper posted that hospital beds for ICU and such are near capacity as a warning. Still, most people that I hear grumbling argue the mask doesn't protect "them," therefore it's useless. I don't understand how they come to the conclusion that this is about them. IN the store the other night I was at checkout, when a guy walks in with his kid who was maybe 9ish. The kid asked his dad about putting on a mask to get inside. The dad just said no, that's stupid. Kid replied, "cuz it can still get through huh?" dad, "yeah." Kid replied, "Cuz it can still get in your eyes, huh dad?" "Yeah." Then he muttered a complaint about how stupid masks were and useless while two of us in line were wearing them. It's not just that he disagrees. There's a weird passive aggressive anger there as if others wearing a mask offends him personally. It is bizarre!
Go figure.
I wanted so badly to joke with this kid that if I had to sneeze right now, would he rather me blow snot all over him or keep it trapped inside my mask where I'd have to wash gooey boogers and snot out of my beard instead of his hair, to make the point that it's not there for my safety. lol I think the kid would have laughed. The dad would have kicked my ass. The employee behind the counter apparently was family. She wasn't masked and told the kid to come give her a hug as I was leaving ...Alabama.
Most of my family (except mom) lives in the Florida panhandle. My cousins are all in an uproar over masks, posting FB arguments and announcing local Piggly Wiggly grocery stores are NOT mandating masks, so to shop there instead. =\
How hard is it really?