Gov. Ron DeSantis says he sees “a light at the end of the tunnel” as Floridians continue battling the spread of the coronavirus. DeSantis sent out a Tweet Sunday thanking everyone who is involved in that fight.
“I want to thank the people of Florida for working really hard in a difficult period of time. I said two weeks ago, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. We have a pathway back and this continues us on that journey so God bless everyone for everything they’ve done,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis announced a loosening of the rules for some businesses including restaurants and gyms starting Monday. Restaurants will be able to serve people indoors with their dining rooms half full. Gyms will be allowed to open following the same 50 percent capacity rule.
Under an Executive Order 20-123 signed by the governor. Florida moves into what officials call a “Full Phase one” Monday. Here’s a list from the Department of Health highlighting what the order includes:
- Restaurants and food establishments statewide may allow on-premises consumption of food and beverages so long as they adopt appropriate social distancing measures and limit their indoor occupancy to no more than 50 percent of seating capacity. Outdoor seating is permissible with a minimum of six feet between parties.
- Retail sales establishments statewide may open if they operate at no more than 50 percent of their building occupancy and abide by the safety guidelines issued by the CDC and OSHA.
- Museums and libraries statewide may open at 50 percent of their building occupancy.
- Gyms and fitness centers statewide are permitted to reopen at 50 percent of their building occupancy with social distancing in place and sanitization after each use of equipment.
