ST. PETERSBURG, Fla — Governor Ron DeSantis is holding a roundtable to discuss the current state of bars and breweries across Florida.
DeSantis will be speaking at the Green Bench Brewing Company in St. Petersburg. He will be joined by Department of Business and Professional Regulation Secretary Halsey Beshears.
In June, Florida banned alcohol consumption at bars in response to a rise in COVID-19 cases across the state. While the state has moved through phases of reopening, the decisions on opening bars to the public has stayed the same.
Beshears met with bar and brewery owners in July to look into how to safely reopen bars. No action on the topic has yet been taken.
On Wednesday, DeSantis and the president of Visit Florida unveiled an in-state marketing campaign to promote tourism.
“This new intrastate marketing campaign is the latest step we’re taking to help get people back to work,” said Governor DeSantis. “While the pandemic is not over, and safety remains paramount, we encourage Floridians to venture out of their homes to enjoy everything our beautiful state has to offer.”
According to the governor's office, tourism accounted for more than 1.5 million jobs and $91 billion in revenue in 2019. However, because of the coronavirus pandemic, visitation dropped by more than 60 percent year-over-year in the second quarter of 2020.
