Governor of the U.S. state of Florida Ron DeSantis issued an order Wednesday directing residents statewide to stay at home so as to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
"I'm going to be doing an executive order today directing all Floridians to limit movements and all personal interactions outside the home to only those necessary to obtain or provide essential services or conduct essential activities," DeSantis said at a press briefing.
The order takes effect Thursday and is valid for 30 days. DeSantis' decision was made after he consulted with President Donald Trump by phone in the morning.
"At this point, I think even though there's a lot of places in Florida that have very low infection rates, it makes sense to make this move now," DeSantis said.
"I did consult with folks in the White House, I did speak with the president about it, he agreed with the approach of focusing on the hot spots but at the same time he understood that this is another 30-day situation and you have to do what makes the most sense," he added.
Previously hesitant to issue a stay-at-home order, DeSantis has been under pressure to do so. He issued a "safer-at-home" order Monday for Broward, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, and Monroe counties through mid-May.
As of Wednesday, confirmed cases in the state neared 7,000, with the death toll increasing to 87, and over 900 being hospitalized, NBC's Miami branch reported.
