Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered all state bars and nightclubs to be shut down for 30 days by 5 p.m. Tuesday (tonight) in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
He did not directly ask restaurants to close, but required them to screen employees at the start of each shift, asked them to cut capacity in half and move tables at least six feet from each other. It’s much like action taken in California. DeSantis encouraged all patrons to use take-out or delivery services.
In Orlando, officials imposed a ban of on-site alcohol sales at all venues including restaurants through the end of March.
Beaches are still open as an option — with conditions.
“What we are going to do is for the statewide floor for beaches is applying the CDC guidance of no group on a beach more than 10 and you have to have distance apart if you are going to be out there,” DeSantis said Tuesday. “Different localities are going to make decisions.”
The governor also announced that four University of Florida students had tested positive for the virus. He said he would recommend to the university Board of Governors that all schools switch to remote learning for the rest of the semester to empty the campuses. He said Tuesday’s total positive cases had reached 192, with 173 of those residents of Florida.
Osceola County is reporting six confirmed COVID-19 cases as of late Tuesday morning. So far, 26 of Florida’s 67 counties are tracking at least one coronavirus case, which is why DeSantis said he hasn’t mandated all restaurants close.