According to Kimiko de Freytas Tamura, writing for the New York Times, residents of the Villages had, for the last four months, basically lived without paying a great deal of attention to the Covid-19 pandemic that has ravaged other areas of the state. Two-thirds of those claiming residence are registered Republicans (some of the more politically active folks within the community were recently celebrated by Donald Trump when he retweeted a golf cart procession commemorating Trump’s birthday, notably highlighted by one Villages resident shouting “White Power!”). In fact, the political affiliations of Villages residents seem to be among the easiest to discern anywhere in the country. As the leader of the Villages Democratic Club, quoted in the Times article, explains, “You can tell who is a Democrat, who is a Republican by their masks.”
COVID-19 sweeps through Florida mega-retirement Villages community — as residents ignore precautions
The relative insularity of the community and its physical distance from areas of serious Covid-19 outbreaks within the state had apparently, up until this point, prevented significant increases in Covid-19 infections during the first four months of the pandemic. Those halcyon days, however, appear to be ending, and for a hugely vulnerable population, the mounting number of cases within the Villages since the beginning of July has been alarming.