ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held a news conference in St. Augustine at Flagler Hospital regarding COVID-19 on Saturday.
He opened with statements about not allowing fear to be a driving factor in how residents approach the threat of coronavirus.
“I think fear is our enemy here, and I think that if we approach this with a steady resolve, I think we’re going to handle it much, much better.”
“As we look at what’s going on with the virus, it is an enemy for us, for sure,” DeSantis said. “But so too is fear in terms of how we approach this. There’s a lot of different things that get put out in the headlines and this and that, not always, I think, with the appropriate context and perspective. I think the result is, a lot of people have a lot of angst and stress that gets built up.”
He also said that Florida will be receiving 30,000 more vials of the drug remdesivir, the treatment that has been shown to reduce illness severity and mortality in some patients with COVIO-19. “I worked with the White House . . . those will be arriving within the next 48 to 72 hours.”
DeSantis said the state has examined testing data from different sites around the state, including the drive thru site at Hard Rock Stadium, and found that 80% of those coming for tests said they’re asymptomatic.
The governor also encouraged those who’ve recovered from the novel coronavirus to donate their blood in order to help current patients with potentially lifesaving plasma treatments.
(Watch the full press conference below)