Florida Governor Ron DeSantis issues stay-at-home order

The sunshine state prepares to become the next epicenter of the coronavirus spread in the United States

Published: April 1, 2020 1:45pm

Updated: April 1, 2020 2:22pm

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday issued a 30-day stay-at-home order to all residents.

"It makes sense to make this move now," said the Republican governor, who until now had resisted issuing a statewide decree. His order goes into effect Thursday night.

On Monday, DeSantis issued a safer-at-home order for four counties. On Tuesday, Miami issued a mandatory 10 p.m. curfew for its residents.

More than 33 states across the country have issued similar stay-at-home orders to at least some of their population.

DeSantis and the Coast Guard are currently in a standoff with two Holland cruise ships with sick passengers aboard.

The ships wish to dock at Port Everglades in Ft. Lauderdale. The Governor says allowing the ships to offload their thousands of passengers into the already stressed Florida hospital system would be a "mistake."