Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he will not take steps to roll back statewide reopening measures as coronavirus cases surge.
“We have to have society function,” DeSantis said in a Monday press briefing at The Villages retirement community. “You can have society function in a way that keeps people safe.”
DeSantis has been reluctant to reverse some of the state’s progress in reopening after months of business shutdowns caused by the coronavirus. He announced on June 25 that he would pause the state’s reopening procedures, putting off entering phase four, which would represent a return to near normal. At the time of announcing the pause, Florida coronavirus cases had totaled to about 114,000. As of Monday, the state has confirmed more than 206,000 cases.
Hours before DeSantis’ Monday press briefing alongside University of Florida Health doctors, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez ordered all Miami restaurants to close for in-person dining after more than 21,000 new coronavirus infections were confirmed in Florida over the Independence Day weekend.
DeSantis said the spike in coronavirus cases in Florida is a function of wider testing capacity, especially with younger people who are not showing signs of infection.
“I think where you start to see the spread is just in social situations where people let their guard down. Usually, like a private party, or something like that,” he said.
Yet, the rate at which coronavirus tests come back positive has remained high, hovering around 15%, for a couple of weeks, indicating that increased transmission, rather than greater testing, is the cause of the increase in reported cases. Earlier in the reopening process, Florida’s positivity rate was below 10%. Despite the increased positivity rate, DeSantis said the rate has “stabilized.”
“I want us to be in May. I want us to be in early June,” DeSantis said. “We want to get back to that for sure. I think we’ve stabilized at where we’re at.”
While the renewed coronavirus surge has mostly affected young people in their 20s and 30s, DeSantis warned that older people are still at risk of getting sick.
