Today, Florida Democratic Party Chair Terrie Rizzo released a statement urging Governor Ron DeSantis to listen to the medical experts and issue a stay-at-home order to quell the spread of coronavirus in the Sunshine State.

“Our state is in trouble and we need to slow the spread of this virus before our healthcare system drowns in a wave of critically sick patients. I’m asking Governor DeSantis to please respect the science, listen to our medical experts, and issue a statewide stay-at-home order immediately.”

This is not a partisan strategy: seventeen states have employed this critical measure to fight the pandemic, including several Republican governors. Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried called for a shelter-in-place order last week.

Health experts are clear: social distancing is critical for slowing the spread of this virus and preventing hospitals from being overwhelmed with patients battling COVID-19. As reported in POLITICO, Howard Koh, a professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and former top Obama administration public health official stated, “With cases and deaths rising by the day, the country must double down, not lighten up, on social distancing and related measures.”