TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is getting ready to announce his plan to begin reopening the state on Wednesday, he said during a Tuesday meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House.
DeSantis largely painted a positive picture of how the state has responded to the coronavirus outbreak, saying it has not been as large a problem as many people predicted. "For Florida going from where we are now to a phase one is not a very big leap,” DeSantis said while sitting next to Trump. ”We’re going to approach it in a very measured, thoughtful and data-driven way.” Florida has had about 30,000 cases of the coronavirus, which has led to 1,171 deaths, according to statistics released by the state Department of Health on Tuesday.