THE VILLAGES, Fla. — As retirees in golf carts rolled up for coronavirus testing, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gave new details about the outbreak in the state.
As of Monday before noon, Florida was reporting 1,117 cases of COVID-19 and 14 deaths.
DeSantis said while the number of cases is expected to grow because of increased testing, he's optimistic about the hospitalization rate going down. He said the rate of people being hospitalized because of coronavirus has gone down from 40 percent to 20 percent.
"We are expecting to continue to see more cases, that's just the nature of this," he said.
DeSantis also said that the state's emergency management team is working on getting tens of thousands of protective supplies and gear to health facilities around the state within the next 48 hours. Those supplies include 60,000 N95 masks, 141,000 procedural masks, nearly 27,000 shields, 22,000 gowns and 78,000 gloves.
A shortage of protective supplies at hospitals and medical facilities has been a big issue around the country. Some emergency rooms and clinics are rationing protective key while others have simply run out of supplies.
At The Villages testing site, DeSantis said the staff expects to do 2,000 samples this week, 400 per day through Friday. And, you don't have to live in The Villages to get tested.
Get more information about this testing site and sign up for an appointment here.
DeSantis also said testing sites like the one in The Villages can help researchers learn more about asymptomatic patients -- those who don't show symptoms. Both clinical and research tests on samples will be done at a University of Florida research lab with results coming in 24 hours.
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