DeSantis on Florida's coronavirus response: 'We know how to protect folks and social distance'

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Gov. Ron DeSantis on how Florida effectively handled coronavirus pandemic without draconian lockdown orders

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis joins Sean Hannity on 'Hannity.'

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Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis told "Hannity" Tuesday that his administration's measured approach to the coronavirus pandemic -- as opposed to the heavy-handed nature of shutdowns that have spurred protests in states like Pennsylvania, Michigan and Virginia --  has served his state well throughout the contagion.

"We know who the vulnerable populations are. We know, if you look at the statistics for people under 50 who don't have chronic conditions, I mean, you have an extremely low chance of death from this virus and those situations," DeSantis said. "We know how to protect folks and social distance between those two groups and so, I think there's a lot of things we've learned over the last six weeks. So, I think we can take a step forward here in May, continue to build on that, and get America back."

The governor said some of the state's actions to mitigate the effects of the outbreak included "putting out seven million masks and gloves and face shields, making sure we have teams going there to try to see where the infections are coming from [and] try to work on keeping those at bay [and] sending National Guard units in to do spot testing."

DeSantis also praised state Secretary of Health Mary Mayhew for her work in preventing the spread of the virus in nursing homes, partially by preventing sick hospital patients from returning to those facilities.

"It's a very difficult problem but because we were proactive, we've had much better results on a much lower death rate than we otherwise would," he said.

DeSantis said he is open to holding sporting events like baseball, football and basketball games in Florida in due time. The pandemic forced the postponement of the March NASCAR race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

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Host Sean Hannity, who is from New York, asked DeSantis when Florida will lift its 14-day requirement that travelers to the state from the tri-state area surrounding New York City.

"We don't want to see any more infections but we are going to work on it," DeSantis promised, adding that he hopes to welcome travelers from all across the nation as the summer vacation season heats up.