
Gov. Ron DeSantis in his afternoon coronavirus briefing emphasized the need for more COVID-19 testing kits and swabs, especially at drive-through sites.
“If we have enough swabs and we set up the drive-through sites, you can swab people,” said DeSantis. “So a huge supply of swabs will let us ramp up the number of people that can be tested very, very quickly.”
He added the state has ordered half-a-million swab test kits, saying, “We put in an order, probably a week and a half ago, for half-a-million swabs. Have not gotten that fulfilled yet.”
In terms of closing bars and nightclubs statewide for 30 days, DeSantis explained, “We want to avoid large crowds throughout the state right now. I don’t want to shut every aspect of life down. I think that wouldn’t be effective. But at the end of the day, you have people crowding into these places and that is creating the type of activity that we are being warned against.”
South Florida is currently the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in the state.
According to the Florida Department of Health, Broward County leads the state with 80 confirmed cases, followed by Miami-Dade County with 76 and Palm Beach County with 19.
Among the newest cases in Palm Beach County is a 6-year-old boy who tested positive, officials announced Wednesday.