TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that Florida will start lifting stay-at-home orders starting Monday.

In a plan he’s labeling, “Safe. Smart. Step-by-Step,” DeSantis said Wednesday that the state will take a “very slow and methodical approach” to reopening in order to convince the public it’s safe.

The orders won’t apply to Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, however, where the epidemic has hit hardest. 

For the last two weeks, DeSantis has been on a coronavirus victory tour, touting the state’s relatively low numbers of cases and demeaning experts and the news media for citing projections showing the state could have faced a much worse pandemic. 

DeSantis flew to Washington on Tuesday for a nationally televised meeting with his ally, President Donald Trump, where he continued to criticize his counterparts for issuing “draconian orders” in an effort to slow the spread of the virus.

Read more at our news partner, the Miami Herald.

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