ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Sunday that capacity for testing for coronavirus statewide is now surpassing the demand.
Speaking in Orlando Sunday afternoon, the governor discussed case numbers, test numbers, and the trend that will make the case for phased reopening of the state.
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He added that roughly 340,000 people have been tested for coronavirus in the state and 31,528 people have tested positive.
The latest numbers released Sunday list 1,074 deaths statewide.
The governor doesn’t want to re-open the state too quickly.
The governor said he wants to do it right, as his task force continues their work in figuring out how to come back from the coronavirus pandemic.
DeSantis said the process to reopen Florida is very methodical and they're looking at data to make the best decisions.
The Task Force to Re-open Florida has opened a form to submit comments to the group.
Charter Communications has temporarily opened its live stream free to the public. You can watch Spectrum News via our live stream on your desktop or laptop without a subscription by visiting our website and clicking “Watch Live” in the upper right. Charter also is temporarily offering free broadband and wifi access for 60 days to teachers and families with K-12 or college students. To enroll, call 1-844-488-8395. The company also will open more than half a million wifi hotspots across the country.
DeSantis has said bars will continue to stay closed. The state is also moving in the direction of allowing elective surgeries again in the near future. When it comes to sports, he says in-person sports are not going to happen in May despite some televised events taking place.
"UFC, we have coming, Tiger Woods and (Phil) Mickelson - But that's for TV so people have some content," DeSantis said.
The governor also discussed movie theaters, saying he's not there yet on reopening them because of how close together everyone is in that space.
"I think it's an enclosed environment," DeSantis said. "You're much better off being outdoors, then in an enclosed environment during this, that's just the reality."
The governor also said the percent of positive coronavirus tests have been low, dropping to 7.5 percent last week. He added FDA approved antibody tests have been ordered for the state and they're due to arrive May 1.
The Task Force to Reopen Florida has also opened an online form to submit comments.
To share a comment with the Task Force to Re-open Florida, head to the submission form website.
You can also hear the recordings of the task force meetings on the Florida Channel website.