Florida Governor DeSantis to meet with task force to discuss three-phase reopening plan
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Governor Ron DeSantis wants the Re-Open Florida Task Force to have short-term recommendations to reopen the state on his desk by the end of the week.
The Governor and members of the task force are set to have a phone conference at 2 p.m. on Monday for an organizational and informational meeting. Governor DeSantis said the task force will work on a three-phase approach to re-open Florida amid the coronavirus pandemic: a short, medium and long term plan.
The task force is expected to have short-term recommendations to the Governor by the end of the week. However, he has not said when the plan will go into effect. It could be when the state’s "stay-at-home" order expires on April 30.
Governor DeSantis said once the short-term recommendations are in place, Re-Open Florida will start work on medium and long term reopening plans.
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The Governor cautioned people to expect Florida to reopen gradually, stating that “certain gatherings -- you’re not going to go into having huge crowds right away of course.”
However, Governor DeSantis said that he wants to get the state’s economy back on track, saying that "we want to see people back to work for the long haul and we want to continue with Florida’s economic development strategy. We had a lot of great irons in the fire before this hit and we want to be able to get that back going forward.”
The task force will look at how and when to reopen every industry, including restaurants and non-essential businesses. Governor DeSantis said the group will be looking at a lot of issues.
He pondered, "what do theme parks look like, travel into Florida, and not just like we want people from Ohio to come here, what about international people coming here? How are the airlines going to handle it? How are the cruise ships going to deal with this? Now they’re not doing anything in May but they said they want to start again in June. How is that going to fit into this?”
Members of the task force are also expected to be identified Monday. The Governor said it is partially made up of small business owners and every county mayor in southeast Florida, an area hit hard by the coronavirus.
The task force will meet at 2 p.m. on Monday and FOX 35 will bring it to you live on our website and Facebook page.
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