Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state is “not going back” on reopening as cases there continue to skyrocket.
The Republican governor told reporters on Tuesday that he thinks the surging numbers of COVID-19 cases are not because of stores being open but rather “social interactions.”
“We’re not going back, closing things. I don’t think that that’s really what’s driving it. People going to a business is not what’s driving it,” DeSantis said, according to Axios. “I think when you see the younger folks, I think a lot of it is more just social interactions, so that’s natural.”
Florida has had record numbers of cases in recent weeks, re-breaking its single-day record for case numbers several times. As of Tuesday, the state has had more than 152,000 confirmed cases and at least 3,500 deaths.
“We’re open, we know who we need to protect, most of the folks in those younger demographics, although we want them to be mindful of what’s going on, are just simply much, much less at risk than the folks who are in those older age groups,” DeSantis said Tuesday.
One change that has occurred following the uptick in cases was that Florida announced that it was suspending on-premise consumption of alcohol, effectively shuttering bars across the state.