DeSantis says Florida seeing more COVID-19 spread among younger people: 'We are prepared for this'

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Gov. Ron DeSantis says Florida is prepared for increased spread of coronavirus

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis joins Sean Hannity to explain state's response to spike in COVID-19 cases.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, told "Hannity" Tuesday that the coronavirus fatality rate in his state has remained low despite a surge in the number of confirmed cases because the virus is spreading among younger people who are less at risk of dying.

"The median age of our new cases was in the 50s about a month and a half ago. That has dropped into the 30s," DeSantis told host Sean Hannity. "We have had days where the median age was 33, and obviously that is important ... because [among] people who are healthy and under 40, you know, the death rate of this thing is very close to zero. So, that's significant."

Later in the interview, DeSantis told Hannity: "Of all the ages, the age with the most cases now in Florida is 21 ... There is no doubt more transmission going on in the community, particularly amongst people in their 20s and 30s."

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On Tuesday, Florida reported 7,347 new coronavirus cases, 380 new coronavirus hospitalizations and 63 additional deaths from COVID-19. In all, 213,794 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Florida, about one percent of the state's population.

"We are prepared for this," DeSantis emphasized. "Now, we are seeing -- in places like Miami, you're seeing increased traffic in the hospitals, but it's interesting, I was down there today and they said that they're actually seeing fewer hospitalizations from people in nursing homes, which is obviously a good sign because that's where the number one risk of mortality is."

Despite the surge in cases, the state has confirmed just 3,841 deaths from COVID-19, a fatality rate of 1.8 percent.

"I think that's a testament to shielding the elderly from infections, particularly the nursing home residents," explained DeSantis.

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"The fact of the matter is, if the case occurs for someone in your 20s, you have radically different fatality prospects than if it’s someone who was in a long-term care facility and they are 80. So we worked hard to shield off the folks who were the most vulnerable, so I think that's why we have a much lower case fatality rate."

To that end, DeSantis said, he had designated 12 nursing home facilities that will exclusively house recovering COVID-19 patients who have been discharged from the hospital, so that they do not return to their former facilities and run the risk of infecting those around them.

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"It's a way to reduce and prevent outbreaks among our very most vulnerable citizens," the governor explained.

"We are protecting the elderly," DeSantis emphasized. "We do it every day. We've got more work to do, but that's our goal."