Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Announces 30-Day Closure of Bars, Nightclubs in Coronavirus Pandemic

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday detailed the latest steps officials in the Sunshine State are taking to curb the spread of the Chinese coronavirus and announced a 30-day closure of all bars and nightclubs, effective Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. EST.

While DeSantis did not go as far as some of his counterparts, including Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who shut down restaurants across their respective states, he is ordering all bars and nightclubs to close across the state for 30 days.

“Stealth carriers – people who don’t have symptoms or have such mild symptoms but are nevertheless passing it along – is something that really nobody has a handle on that,” DeSantis said.

“If they’re not meeting in those big groups, then the chance of that being passed on is less,” he added.

Additionally, he is urging restaurants to reduce their capacities by 50 percent and encouraging patrons to utilize takeout and delivery instead of dining-in. He also said restaurant employees should be screened for the virus.

“We are also going to be requiring that the restaurants screen all employees and prohibit entry for employees that may have a positive response to any of the trigger questions in terms of health,” DeSantis said.

He also confirmed a coronavirus-related death in Broward County — a 77-year-old man residing in an assisted living facility. The man had “significant” underlying medical problems, according to the governor.

DeSantis announced that four students at the University of Florida tested positive for the coronavirus, at least one of whom was “engaged in international travel.” He is recommending the board of governors consider “remote learning” for the rest of the spring semester at all Florida universities and said Floridians can expect an announcement “along those lines very soon.”

The governor signaled support for local officials closing beaches but said statewide, officials will apply the CDC guidance of “no group on a beach more than ten.”

“And you have to have distance apart if you’re going to be out there. So that will apply statewide,” he said, noting that localities could take more aggressive action.

“This is the floor for Florida for the foreseeable future,” he added.

Florida currently has 192 cases of the coronavirus, 173 of which are Florida residents, according to the governor.