By Sara Matthis and Mandy Miles
On April 1, at a press conference in Fort Walton Beach, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced an executive order shutting down the entire state of Florida.
The order takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, April 3. It will last 30 days and then be reevaluated.
“I am directing all Floridians to limit their movements and personal interactions outside the home,” he said, “unless they are providing essential services or seeking essential services.” DeSantis said the order mimics measures taken in places like Miami-Dade County, the epicenter of Florida’s worst outbreak. The City of Key West also made a similar order this past week.
DeSantis said he would model the list of essential businesses based on the recommendations of the federal Department of Homeland Security … with modifications.
“If you see something that needs to be on there, we’ll look at it,” he said.
DeSantis specifically mentioned that caring for pets, whether that is veterinarian care or stores selling pet food, is essential.
Again, Floridians are asked to limit gatherings to no more than 10 people, and stay six feet apart. He said, “Use good judgement. The federal government can’t ham fist everybody into their bedroom. It’s not practical.
“I don’t know how these measures will work. It’s never been tried on American society before,” DeSantis said. “On the back end, we will figure out” how to address the economic fallout. One idea, he said, is to ramp up infrastructure projects.
“One thing we can do is take advantage of fewer cars on the road to complete needed infrastructure projects,” he said. “I told the Florida secretary of transportation to accelerate $2.1 billion in transportation projects.”
He named four projects in Tampa, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Palm Beach County.
Seniors and those with serious underlying health conditions, such as diabetes, are encouraged to stay home and avoid all contact.
The governor said he is in contact with the White House regarding the numerous cruise ships offshore of Florida. Many are awaiting permission to dock in South Florida. Ports are controlled at the county level.
“My concern is that we worked so hard to ensure adequate hospital space, we wouldn’t want those valuable beds to be taken because of sick cruise ship passengers,” he said. “We’re working on a solution. I’ve spoken to the president.”
Like President Trump, DeSantis has concerns about disappearing supplies. He said he learns of shipments of masks that have arrived that … don’t.
“I can’t tell you exactly what is going on in the market right now,” he said, “but it’s shady as hell, that’s for sure.” He said the supply of masks is a trickle that is sent out to Florida facilities with the biggest immediate needs.
Earlier in the week, on March 30, the governor held a press conference with the mayors of the four southern counties — Monroe, Miami-Dade, Broward and West Palm. At that meeting, he spoke about other state efforts underway.
“We’ve also procured the hydroxychloroquine,” he said. “The FDA yesterday approved its use under the right circumstances to treat the virus. We’ve also deployed 1,750 of the 45-minute rapid tests to Broward County and we’ve asked for a lot of the five-minute tests.”
DeSantis also said he believes the virus that brought the world to its knees was present in Florida before the state began testing for it.
“I’ve gotta believe this thing was swirling around Miami during the Super Bowl,” the governor said. “I think this was circulating in Florida, but we weren’t doing any testing for it.”
DeSantis also praised “private industry and American innovation” for their efforts in the fight against COVID-19.
