JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Florida Governor Ron DeSantis held a press conference Thursday where he said that Broward County and Miami-Dade would be entering Phase 1 of the reopening process starting next week.
Almost two weeks ago, DeSantis excluded Miami-Dade and Broward from the Phase 1 reopening due to a large number of positive COVID-19 cases.
However, Desantis says that South Florida counties have been doing an excellent job in flattening the curve in recent days with testing numbers trending downward.
He said he and his team continue working with South Florida counties to move forward and make sure that the number of positive cases stay low.
"Moving Miami Dade to Phase One is the sensible thing to do at this point," DeSantis explained. "We understood that we have a responsibility to move forward in a safe, smart and step-by-step approach."
Across the state, the governor says the total number of COVID patients in the ICU since Phase 1 began has decreased by 21%. DeSantis says all Florida counties continue to do well and that him and his team are continuing to plot a way forward.
On Wednesday, DeSantis said he was exploring options to get longterm care facilities prepped to start accepting visitors again.
There's no timeline as of yet, but the governor says he's encouraged by testing numbers, which are low in comparison to other states.
He says the diligence of both the Healthcare Administration and the Florida Department of Health (DOH) helped contribute by being aggressive against the virus.
"Senior citizens from the beginning we have known have been the most vulnerable... we made it a priority from the beginning," Desantis said.