AND ABOUT 50 OF THEM ARE FLORIDA RESIDENTS.
RESIDENTS. NEIL.
NEIL. >> Neil: ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU
VERY, VERY MUCH.
WITH US NOW AS THE FLORIDA
GOVERNOR WHO IS KIND ENOUGH TO
JOIN US ON THE PHONE.
WHAT ABOUT THESE SHIPS?
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?
>> I THINK WE ARE GOING TO HAVE
A SOLUTION.
A SOLUTION. WHEN THIS FIRST CAME ON OUR
RADAR, I WAS TOLD THE SHIPS WERE
ALL FOREIGN NATIONALS AND HAD NO
CONNECTION TO FLORIDA.
WHY WOULD YOU BRING THEM TO
FLORIDA?
FLORIDA? IT TURNS OUT, THERE ARE AMERICAN
CITIZENS.
CITIZENS. WE ACTUALLY HAVE FLORIDIANS.
THERE ARE 30 OR 40 FLORIDIANS.
THE COUNTY IS WORKING ON A PLAN
TO GET THE FLORIDIANS BACK
SAFELY.
SAFELY. SAFELY, EXPATRIATE THE FOREIGN
NATIONALS SO THAT THEY ARE NOT
MIXING WITH OUR COMMUNITY.
I HAVE OFFERED NATIONAL GUARD
SUPPORT TO HELP IN THAT EFFORT.
WE WERE CONSIDERED ABOUT A
DILUTION OF THE HOSPITALS.
IT TURNS OUT THAT THERE WILL
PROBABLY BE SOME WHO WILL NEED
TO GO, BUT IT’S VERY, VERY
MANAGEABLE.
MANAGEABLE. THE LOCAL HOSPITAL SYSTEM THINK
THEY CAN HANDLE IT.
I ACTUALLY THINK THEY WILL BE
ABLE TO DEAL WITH THIS IN A WAY
THAT MAKES SENSE.
OBVIOUSLY, ONCE WE FOUND OUT
THAT THERE WERE AMERICAN
CITIZENS AND FLORIDIANS
ESPECIALLY ON BOARD, WE WANTED
TO FIND A WAY TO MAKE IT WORK.
THERE IS A CONCERN GIVEN THAT WE
HAVE MOST OF OUR CASES IN
THOSE 2 COUNTIES, THAT IF YOU
HAD FOLKS AFFECTED AND THEY WERE
GOING TO THE AIRPORT ARE GOING
TO DIFFERENT AREAS, THAT COULD
POTENTIALLY SPREAD AND CONTINUE
TO HELP THIS SPREAD.
I THINK THEY HAVE IT FIGURED OUT
SO IT WILL ALL BE DONE SAFELY.
I’M HOPING THAT THEY WILL BE
ABLE TO COME TO A RESOLUTION
VERY SOON.
VERY SOON. >> Neil: WHERE THEY DOCK IN
FORT LAUDERDALE?
FORT LAUDERDALE? WHERE WERE THEY GO?
>> I THINK THEY WOULD.
THE FLORIDIANS OBVIOUSLY, SOME
OF THE FLORIDIANS LIVED THERE.
SOME WOULD BE TAKEN WHERE THEY
ARE FROM.
ARE FROM. THE FOREIGNERS -- I THINK THERE
WILL BE FLIGHTS ARRANGED FOR
THEM.
THEM. THEY WILL NOT GO TO THE AIRPORT.
IT WILL BE DONE WHERE THERE IS
NOT AN OPPORTUNITY TO SPREAD
CORONAVIRUS TO THE PEOPLE OF
FLORIDA.
FLORIDA. I THINK IT IS A THOUGHTFUL
APPROACH THEY ARE WORKING ON.
AND HOPEFULLY THE CRUISE LINE
WILL BE WILLING TO AGREE TO SOME
OF THE TERMS THE COUNTY WANTS.
AT THE END OF THE DAY, I THINK
THAT WE’VE SEEN THESE CRUISE
SHIPS BE BIG PROBLEMS WITH THIS
VIRUS.
VIRUS. THEY ARE NOT SAILING ANY NEW
ONES.
ONES. THIS IS GOING TO CONTINUE TO BE
A PROBLEM.
A PROBLEM. WE HAD TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE
ARE SAFE.
ARE SAFE. PARTICULARLY ONSHORE PLACES LIKE
THE STATE OF FLORIDA.
>> Neil: YOU ALSO ISSUED A
STAY AT HOME ORDER.
MANY OF YOUR CRITICS ARE
DEMOCRATS WHO RODE A LETTER TO
YOU TO SAY THAT YOU SHOULDN’T --
YOU’VE DONE THAT.
HOW WILL IT WORK?
WHEN WILL IT TAKE EFFECT?
>> Neil:>> JUST SO YOUR LIVER IS
HAVE DONE HAVE DONE STAY AT HOME
WITH THE MAYOR.
THEY HAVE BEEN UNDER
RESTRICTIONS FOR A COUPLE OF
WEEKS NOW.
WEEKS NOW. I HAVE COUNTIES OF HALF A
MILLION PEOPLE THAT HAVE ONLY A
HANDFUL OF CASES.
WE HAVE NOT DONE AT STATE-WIDE.
IN OUR HOT SPOT, NOW WITH THE
PRESIDENT DOING THE EXTRA 30
DAYS, MY VIEW IS, THE COUNTRY
HAS HIT THE PAUSE BUTTON.
WE HAVE HIT THE PAUSE BUTTON.
THIS IS NOT NUMBER ONE, TWO,
THREE PRIORITY.
THREE PRIORITY. I KNOW THERE WAS TALK ABOUT
GETTING THE ECONOMY BACK SOONER.
UNLESS WE DEAL WITH THIS -- I
FELT IT MADE SENSE TO EXTEND IT
STATEWIDE.
STATEWIDE. OBVIOUSLY, WE HAVE A LOT OF
PARTS OF FLORIDA THAT HAVE NOT
BEEN HIT AS HARD.
WE WANT TO IT THAT WAY.
WE DON’T WANT TO SEE MORE SPREAD
IN THOSE AREAS.
SOUTHEAST FLORIDA IS OUR
EPICENTER.
EPICENTER. WE PUT A LOT OF RESOURCES DOWN
THERE.
THERE. WE DON’T WANT THERE TO BE A
MASSIVE SEARCH OBVIOUSLY.
WE’VE GOT A LOT OF RESOURCES
STAGED THERE.
STAGED THERE. I THINK IS THE BEST POLICY FOR
THE STATE AT THIS TIME.
>> Neil: HOW ARE YOU POLICING
THE BEACHES AND CROWDS GOING TO
THE BEACHES?
THE BEACHES? YOU’VE GOT HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS
OF MILES IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT.
>> WE HAVE NO CROWDS ON ANY
PUBLIC SPACE OF 10 OR MORE.
AND SO, SOME PLACES CLOSE EVERY
PUBLIC SPACE BECAUSE THEY DON’T
WANT TO POLICE IT.
SOME PEOPLE LET PEOPLE GO TO A
PARK OR WHATEVER.
WHAT HAPPENS IS, OUR WHOLE STATE
AS A COASTLINE.
YOU CAN HAVE A BEACH BE CLOSE,
BUT GUESS WHAT.
UNLESS YOU ARE POLICING AT 24/7,
PEOPLE GO OUT THERE.
WE ARE GOING UP THE COAST.
I SEE A SLEW OF BEACHES THAT ARE
CLOSED.
CLOSED. YOU DO HAVE PEOPLE THAT GO OUT
THERE.
THERE. THIS IS LIKE WHACK-A-MOLE.
PEOPLE DO DIFFERENT THINGS.
A LOT OF THE STUFF IN THE MEDIA
THAT WAS PLAYED ABOUT
SPRING BREAK WAS BEFORE THE CDC
HAD CHANGED THEIR GARDENS.
THEY WERE SAYING 1,000 PEOPLE
GROUPS WERE FINE.
THAT WAS 4 DAYS BEFORE THE 15
DAYS TO STOP THE SPREAD.
IT ESCALATED QUICKLY AND ONCE
THAT HAPPENED WITH SOME OTHER
GROUPS WERE BANNED ALL
THROUGHOUT THE STATE OF FLORIDA.
BUT WE ARE SEEING OTHER AREAS
UNDERSTANDING PEOPLE DO
CONGREGATE IN PRIVATE RESIDENCES
AND OTHER THINGS.
WE HAVE 21.5 MILLION PEOPLE.
IT IS DEFINITELY A CHALLENGE.
MOST PEOPLE HAVE BEEN DOING A
GREAT JOB.
GREAT JOB. I WANT TO THANK THE PEOPLE OF
FLORIDA FOR DOING A GREAT JOB.
>> Neil: THANK YOU
GOVERNOR VERY, VERY MUCH.
THE GOVERNOR OF THE BEAUTIFUL