FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ Florida has "performed better than anyone predicted" in responding to the new coronavirus, avoiding the spike in cases that strained hospitals in New York, Italy and other hard-hit parts of the world, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Sunday
DeSantis promised that an announcement was coming soon on a "safe and methodical" plan to reopen Florida's economy.
"If you go back six weeks, people were saying Florida was going to be another New York or another Italy and all that," DeSantis said in Orlando. "Those have all proven to be false. Florida has performed better than anyone predicted."
Epidemiologists say Florida has been able to flatten the epidemic's curve, thanks in large part to measures put in place by state and local governments to close bars and restaurants and other places where people gather. The worst-case projections involved scenarios where leaders didn't take those actions.
Health experts worry a second wave of new infections could occur if Florida moves too quickly to reopen.
Even with public health measures, Florida had reported 1,074 coronavirus deaths as of Sunday.
Political and business leaders have been meeting to chart Florida's course for reopening. A statewide stay-at-home order is set to expire on Thursday.
DeSantis said restarting the economy will occur gradually and won't be like "turning on a light switch and all of a sudden we're back to Feb. 1." At previous briefings, DeSantis has indicated South Florida could be shut down longer than other parts of the state because it has seen more cases.
"We're going to do everything in a very smart, methodical, safe way," DeSantis said. "I'm less concerned about a specific date than I am about getting it right."
The governor also defended his handling of Florida's embattled unemployment system, one of the slowest in the country at processing claims. DeSantis put blame on his predecessor U.S. Sen. Rick Scott for spending $77 million on what he called a "flawed product" and an unprecedented number of claims.
About 2,200 employees from other agencies have been assigned to improving the unemployment system, DeSantis said.
"There has never been more manpower devoted to a single economic problem, certainly since I have been governor, but I bet you in the state's history," he said.
