Florida’s Governor Doesn’t Plan to Move to Next Phase of Opening

(Bloomberg) -- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said he doesn’t have plans to go to the next phase of re-opening as coronavirus cases surge in the Sunshine State.

Asked Thursday about other states that have paused in loosening restrictions, DeSantis said he never said when Florida would move to the next phase. Speaking from Tampa, he also noted that South Florida, the region with the most cases, is on a delayed re-opening schedule.

“We are where we are,” DeSantis said. “I didn’t say we’re going to go onto the next phase.”

Most businesses have resumed in Florida, including bars and nightclubs, with the exception of the hard-hit Miami metropolitan area. But there are still strict capacity limits and other rules.

Florida started re-opening on May 4 and initially new-case trends were manageable. But since the start of June, it’s seen some of the country’s highest infection numbers.

Florida reported 114,018 cases on Thursday, up 4.6% from a day earlier, compared with an average increase of 4% in the previous seven days. Deaths among Florida residents reached 3,327, an increase of 1.4%, according to the state health department report, which includes data through Wednesday.

While diagnoses are on the rise, DeSantis has said the clinical consequences aren’t particularly severe since most new infections are in less vulnerable young people.

“We never anticipated necessarily doing anything different in terms of the next phase at this point anyways,” DeSantis said.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.