page_title: COVID-19 pandemic in Florida
section_title: State government
hierarchical_section_title: COVID-19 pandemic in Florida / Response / State government
caption_attribution_description: Members of the Florida National Guard (FLNG) gather with local hospital staff to collaborate on donning and doffing personal protective equipment (PPE) during Task Force – Medicals’ response to the COVID-19 virus, March 17, 2020. The FLNG is mobilizing up to 500 Citizen-Soldiers and Airmen in support of the Florida Department of Health response in Broward County. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Leia Tascarini)
context_page_description: On March 1, 2020, the U.S. state of Florida officially reported its first two COVID-19 cases, in Manatee and Hillsborough counties. However, there is evidence that community spread of COVID-19 began in Florida much earlier, perhaps as early as the first week of January, with as many as 171 people in Florida who had shown symptoms now identified with COVID-19, prior to receiving confirmation from the Centers for Disease Control. By March 11, the CDC saw evidence to conclude that community spread of the virus had occurred within the state. On April 1, Governor Ron DeSantis issued an executive order to restrict activities within the state to those deemed as essential services.
  As of August 30, 2020, the Florida Department of Health reported 2,735 cases and 162 deaths among Florida residents, increasing the cumulative totals since the beginning of the pandemic to 614,753 positive COVID-19 cases and 11,119 deaths. With non-residents included, the totals stand at 621,586 cases and 11,263 deaths. During the months of June and July 2020 the number of COVID-19 cases in Florida increased over eight-fold, from 56,830 on June 1 to 470,386 on July 31.
context_section_description: On March 1, Governor DeSantis declared a public health emergency after two cases were confirmed in Manatee County and Hillsborough County. On March 17, he ordered all bars and nightclubs to be closed for 30 days, extended school closures to April 15, and cancelled state-mandated school testing.
  By the third week of the pandemic's presence in Florida, DeSantis began attracting criticism for the state's slow response to the pandemic, particularly for deferring beach closings to local governments during spring break while vacationers continued to congregate. The Miami Herald's editorial board wrote an editorial condemning DeSantis inaction in requesting help from the federal government, while noting his vocal support of U.S. President Donald Trump. Speculation mounted that DeSantis' decision not to lock down the state was influenced by business interests, instead of health experts. Business lobbyists including the Florida Chamber of Commerce urged the Governor not to "take drastic measures that might shut down the state's economy". On March 27, more than 900 health care workers signed a letter asking DeSantis to order citizens to shelter-in-place, and take other measures to slow the spread of COVID-19. A similar letter written by Doctors for America was signed by 500 health care professionals a few days earlier.
  On March 27, DeSantis expanded a previous order requiring airline travelers from New York City to self-quarantine for fourteen days to include people who enter from Louisiana via Interstate 10.
  On March 28, an emergency alert was sent to cell phones throughout Florida from the state's Surgeon General, Dr. Scott A. Rivkees, regarding public safety among those 65 and older and those with medical conditions, as well as the full population.
  On March 30, DeSantis issued a stay-at-home order for the South Florida counties of Broward, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, and Monroe, where over 58% of the state's coronavirus cases were concentrated. He stated that the order would remain in effect at least until the middle of May.
  On April 1, DeSantis issued a stay-at-home order for the entire state, effective for 30 days, after a call with President Trump. This followed criticism from experts that more strict measures were necessary to contain the virus.
  On June 1, Desantis extended the statewide moratorium on evictions and foreclosures another 30 days, lasting through July 1. Residents of Florida who receive unemployment payments were confused in mid-June when the state of Florida switched their payments from weekly to bi-weekly, with no apparent notice.
  On June 16, DeSantis said 260 Orlando International Airport workers tested positive for COVID-19. He also said that the increase of cases was due to an increase of testing and that even though cases are increasing "they are not rolling back". Orlando airport said this was false, and that only 2 out of 500 employees tested positive.
  The New York governor, Andrew Cuomo, is pondering the idea of quarantining people who travel from Florida to New York due to concern of rising COVID-19 cases in Florida. They are monitoring for an influx of cases of people traveling from Florida. On June 20, DeSantis said that he is cracking down on restaurants not practicing strict social distancing guideline. He also noted that the new cases are trending in the younger generation, with much of the cases being people between the ages of 20 and 35 years old.
  On June 23, DeSantis said that Florida bars and restaurants now run the risk of losing their liquor licenses in violation of the state's social distancing guidelines. 13 employees and at least 28 patrons of The Knight's Pub tested positive for COVID-19, resulting in The Knight's Pub losing their liquor license. Due to the surge of COVID-19 cases, some hospitals, like Palm Beach Gardens and JFK medical centers, reported having no open ICU beds. However, State Surgeon General Dr. Scott Rivkes, told hospital to not report COVID patients in ICUs.
  The same day, Florida banned liquor sales at bars. However, strip clubs remain open. As of June 26, 660 inmates a
caption: Florida National Guard soldiers collaborate with hospital staff to don personal protective equipment
exif: {"Image ImageWidth": "4464", "Image ImageLength": "3516", "Image BitsPerSample": "[8, 8, 8]", "Image PhotometricInterpretation": "2", "Image ImageDescription": "Members of the Florida National Guard (FLNG) gather with local hospital staff to collaborate on donning and doffing personal protective equipment (PPE) during Task Force \u2013 Medicals\u2019 response to the COVID-19 virus, March 17, 2020. The FLNG is mobilizing up to 500 Citizen-Soldiers and Airmen in support of the Florida Department of Health response in Broward County. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Leia Tascarini)", "Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS 7D Mark II", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image SamplesPerPixel": "3", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CS6 (Macintosh)", "Image DateTime": "2020:03:17 20:46:06", "Image Artist": "Sgt. Leia Tascarini", "Image Copyright": "Public Domain", "Image ExifOffset": "764", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1354", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "11927", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/30", "EXIF FNumber": "9/2", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "500", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Recommended Exposure Index", "EXIF RecommendedExposureIndex": "500", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "4906891/1000000", "EXIF ApertureValue": "86797/20000", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "4", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "24", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "4464", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "3516", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "79937569/32768", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "79937569/32768", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "3", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF BodySerialNumber": "212054001329", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[24, 105, 0/0, 0/0]", "EXIF LensModel": "EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM", "EXIF LensSerialNumber": "0000a3a2f2"}