Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday issued a stay-at-home order for the southern region of the state, including Broward, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, and Monroe counties until the middle of May at least.
"The 'Safer-At-Home' [order] is the right move for southeast Florida," DeSantis said during a press briefing at the Hard Rock Stadium near Miami, according to The Hill. "This is the time to do the right thing. Listen to all of your local officials."
He added, "We will do this through the middle of May, and then see where we're at."
Florida has about 5,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, with 523 being reported by the state department of health Sunday. DeSantis told Fox News' "Fox & Friends" on Monday that "almost 60%" of those cases were found in one of those four counties listed in the lockdown order.
The governor said "the region is shut down, schools are out, people are really sacrificing, and I think the fear is that while you are doing all that to try to slow the spread, it would be really bad if new infections were just being airdropped in from other hot spots, and so we're just trying to get a handle on it.
"We can't prevent travel from an American citizen to our state, we understand that, but if we can tell them about self-isolation and request that they do that and if they comply, then I think we will be safer as a result."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.