Florida Issues Mandatory Stay at Home Order

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a stay-at-home order for the month of April on Wednesday, with the exception of essential personnel.

DeSantis has been under heavy criticism from state lawmakers for not enacting the order earlier, as coronavirus cases in Florida are close to surpassing 7,000, with at least 85 deaths as of Tuesday and hot zones in Broward and Miami-Dade counties.

Earlier in the week, DeSantis said that there were no plans for a statewide order because no such advice came from the White House, and the Governor had earned Trump’s praise for being a “great governor who knows exactly what he’s doing.”

At his news conference, the Florida governor also questioned the usefulness of the order, giving an example with something he personally witnessed – closed beaches with gatherings of people, despite the closure.

“It’s just unfortunate, but no matter what you do you’re going to have a class of folks who are going to do whatever the hell they want to,” DeSantis said.