Florida to Allow More Traffic at Stores, Restaurants

(Bloomberg) -- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said he is expanding the reopening of the state’s economy starting Monday, allowing gyms to restart and more traffic at stores and restaurants.

Retailers and restaurants will be able to operate at 50% indoor capacity, up from 25%, DeSantis told reporters Friday in Jacksonville, Florida.

DeSantis also invited amusement parks to submit reopening plans, though he wouldn’t predict when he would approve such a step.

DeSantis started reopening last week, saying the local healthcare system had held up and the Sunshine State dodged worst-case scenarios predicted by some analysts. He said Friday that ventilator use and Covid-19 patients in intensive-care units have both declined significantly since the start of Florida’s stay-home order on April 3.

“The American people never signed up for a perpetual shelter in place,” DeSantis said.

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