Tale of two states: Lockdown-loving California took infection rate from worst in the US to the best - while fully-open Florida now sees FIVE TIMES more cases per capita and deaths rise from 44 to 80 a day in a week

 Just a few months ago, California was the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S. Hospitals in Los Angeles were drowning in patients, and ambulances were idling outside with people struggling to breathe, waiting for beds to open.

And despite the state's prolonged lockdowns, it was still seeing nearly as many cases as fully-reopened Florida in March.  

The parallel trends in states with opposite approaches was the pride of Florida's Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, the bane of California's Democratic governor Gavin Newsom, and a surprise that left public health experts scratching their heads.

At long last, the tables have turned. California, once the hardest hit state in the nation has the lowest daily infection rate in the county, with about six cases per 100,000 residents. 

California reaches that milestone not in midst of one of Newsom's lockdowns, but as the state hurries to reopen its economy. 

Meanwhile, Florida is seeing nearly 25 new Covid cases per capita a day. New infections began to trend downward this week, but rose from a March 12 low of 4,475 a day to 6,756 a day on April 16. 

One factor driving the divergence may be vaccination rates - nearly 40 percent of Californians are fully vaccinated, compared to just 22 percent of Floridians. 

But overall, experts are still stumped. 

'We have been humbled as epidemiologists that it's more complicated than we would be able to assess,' Vanderbilt University professor of preventive medicine and health policy, Dr William Schaffner, told DailyMail.com. 

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California, once the hardest hit state in the nation has the lowest daily infection rate in the county, with about six cases per 100,000 residents

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Florida is seeing nearly 25 new Covid cases per capita a day. New infections began to trend downward this week, but rose from a March 12 low of 4,475 a day to 6,756 a day on April 16

Earlier in the pandemic, California appeared to be a case study in just how helpless the U.S. was against COVID-19, despite the most stringent measures to slow the spread. 

The death count was staggering - so many that morgues filled and refrigerated trucks were brought in to handle the overflow.

Now as cases spike in other parts of the country, California has gone from worst to first with the lowest infection rate in the U.S. even as it has moved quickly to reopen more businesses with greater customer counts and allow larger gatherings.

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California Governor Newsom issued more restrictions (red) to slow the spread of Covid than the vast majority of other state leaders, but continued to see some of the worst spikes in Covid cases in the nation, especially in January 

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California deaths are trending downward after reaching the highest levels in the nation in January 

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Florida's governor, Ron DeSantis, took a much more lax approach, issuing fewer restrictions, lifting them early on (green) and reopening his state completely in March. yet, for months, its case burden was comparable to California's 

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Covid deaths are now rising slightly to about 80 a day in Florida, although its cases have begun to trend downward 

Hospitalizations have fallen one-tenth of their peak. At the height of California's surge, 20,000 people were in inpatient treatment. Now, that figure sits at 2,100. 

And daily deaths have plummeted from more than 600 in January to about 30 a day this month.  

A scramble to get COVID-19 vaccinations has given way to an open invite in many parts of California, which is administering more than 360,000 doses a day.  

'It has been a success story for California to have gone from our, if you will, viral tsunami that happened after the back-to-back holiday season to where we are now,' said Dr Robert Kim-Farley of the University of California, Los Angeles' public health school. 

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The rise in the share of California's population that is fully vaccinated has slowed slightly in the past week or so (pictured, divided from highest risk group, coded blue, to lowest, coded gree). The average number of doses given daily has dipped from nearly 400,000 a day to about 350,000 a day, according to tracking from the Los Angeles Times 

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Last week, just 381,312 people got vaccinated against COVID-19 in Florida, down from 727,263 the previous week, and 682,566 two weeks prior 

But even in the state - which has one of the lowest rates of vaccine hesitancy in the nation - there are early warning signs that the pace of vaccinations is beginning to slow. 

While about 40 percent of the population is now fully vaccinated, only 20.5 percent are partially vaccinated.  

The average number of doses given daily has dipped from nearly 400,000 a day to about 350,000 a day, according to tracking from the Los Angeles Times.  

Still, the rapid fire pace of the early stages of California's vaccine rollout is likely helping to drive down infections.  

At the peak of California's winter surge that followed the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's holidays, the state was recording 40,000 new cases daily and well above 500 deaths per day. Those numbers have dwindled to 2,300 new cases and 68 deaths daily.

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National Guard members assisted the LA County Dept. of Medical Examiner-Coroner  as it was overwhelmed by Covid deaths. They lift a body into a temporary morgue as they assisted the county in processing COVID-19 deaths in January 

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Healthcare workers tend to people in cars at a drive up vaccination center at City College of San Francisco during the coronavirus pandemic in San Francisco where shots are now readily available 

The state surpassed Hawaii on Thursday with the lowest average number of cases per capita in the past two weeks, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. 

One in every 2,416 people in California tested positive in the past week. At the other end of the spectrum, one in every 223 people in Michigan was diagnosed with the virus.

Kim-Farley said it's been like turning around a massive tanker ship to reach today's level of improvement. 

He credited government and public health agencies with providing clear guidelines that businesses, schools and individuals largely followed, including mask mandates and social distancing.

Governor Newsom has been allowing businesses and schools to reopen by county based on case levels. At different points in the pandemic, he has faced heavy criticism for being too restrictive, and now some worry he is moving too quickly.

All counties have improved enough to move out of the strictest of four tiers, and 38 of the 58 counties - accounting for 87 percent of the state's population - now are in the second least-restrictive tier. Newsom said he plans to lift most remaining coronavirus restrictions by June 15.

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Hospitalizations have plummeted consistently in California, and are now a tenth of their January peak. Currently, about 2,000 people are hospitalized for Covid in the state, although ICU admissions have increased since January and held steady this month

Florida, on the other hand, was one of the first states to fully reopen and ditch its mask mandate. 

Last month, Governor DeSantis declared his state open for business and ready to welcome Spring Breakers. 

And they came in droves, descending upon hotspots like Miami's South Beach, largely maskless and ultimately leading to clashes with riot police. 

Some experts have called the subsequent uptick in cases in Florida a predictable, but unfortunate outcome. 

The state is now seeing about 5,543 new cases a day and 80 deaths a day. 

Average daily infections finally began to trend downward this month, but deaths have ticked up slightly over the past nine days. 

After rising to more than 1,400 a day on Monday, visits to Florida emergency rooms for Covid-like symptoms are down to about 1,000. 

With more than a quarter of Florida's population vaccinated, the shots are likely helping to keep caseloads, hospitalizations and deaths from spiking further. 

But Florida has one of the nation's highest rates of vaccine hesitancy. Between 22 and 32 percent of people in the state's counties are vaccine hesitant, according to Centers for Disease Control (CDC) data. 

That means it's quickly approaching having vaccinated most people who are eager to get the shots, and will likely see a considerable slowdown in the pace of vaccinations soon. 

The state is also wrestling with the more infectious UK variant, B117. 

B117 is more infectious than older strains of Covid, may be more deadly and appears to be better at infecting the cells of younger people and children who have been largely spared for most of the pandemic, but are now representing a growing number of cases across the U.S. 

More than half (54.6 percent) of coronavirus infections in Florida are caused by B117, according to CDC data. 

By comparison, just shy of 18 percent of cases in California are caused by the variant. 

'I think we will continue for foreseeable future to see this race between vaccinations and this strain,' perhaps at different intensity levels, but across the U.S., Dr Schaffner told DailyMail.com.  

'I was more optimistic about vaccine acceptance and coverage inching up throughout the summer a month ago than I am now.' 

But the U.S. seems to be approaching the threshold of vaccine hesitancy earlier than expected.  

'I think it could continue to spread, I thought we were going to have this under control by end of summer, and I’m not at all assured about this now.'