STATEWIDE — Because of the nationwide rise in coronavirus cases — Florida surpassed 21,000 Monday — the Food and Drug Administration has given the OK to sterilize millions of N95 masks.

There were more than 2,800 hospitalizations, with 499 dead due to COVID-19 complications in Florida as of the 6 p.m. Florida Department of Health update.

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Because of the surge in cases and a limited supply of personal protective equipment for first responders, federal health officials are giving the green light to decontaminate and sterilize used N95 masks.

The Food and Drug Administration says more than 6,000 hospitals already have the systems, and they have been getting the OK to use them.

In total, these systems can clean about 4 million masks a day, alleviating a need for these masks that were at one time so hard to come by.

Lake County Fire Rescue said its newly acquired hydrogen peroxide decontamination unit can sterilize up to 300 masks at once in a three-hour process. It said officials with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration would "routinely" test the integrity of the reused masks.

Reusing sterilized N95 masks will fill the gap while manufacturers work to meet the growing demand for new ones, the fire department said.

The country’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, says it's possible that in at least some parts of the country, things could start turning back in a few weeks with some businesses reopening.

During an interview on Sunday, Fauci said the process would be piecemeal. Just as the restrictions began slowly, they will probably be lifted slowly, too.

For now, the stay-at-home order in Florida is set to expire at the end of the month, though some states have already extended theirs.

Fauci was cautiously optimistic that Americans will know a whole lot more by the start of May.

“We are hoping by the end of the month we can look around and say, ‘OK, is there any element here that we can safely and cautiously start pulling back on, if so, do it,’” he said.

The Florida Department of Health on Monday was set to begin expanding coronavirus testing to include residents who are not showing any symptoms but are in contact with people who have tested positive.