ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said Monday morning’s severe weather served as an example of why businesses need to begin the reopening process.
At least three tornadoes were confirmed by the National Weather Service in Marion, Seminole and Brevard counties.
"Without the hotels we cannot adequately shelter people in case of a storm," Demings said. "I know that time is of the essence."
Demings said he was looking forward to his first meeting with his Orange County Economic Recovery Task Force, which is scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday morning.
At the same time, he said he was still pushing for more testing.
He said 16,732 people have been tested for COVID-19 in Orange County, and more needed to be tested to see how pervasive the illness was.
"We are limited by the availability of the collection kits, and we continue each day to look for an additional supply of collection kits from the state of Florida," he said.
His comments came as Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-FL, announced his own economic recovery task force in Tallahassee.
Disney is represented on both task forces.
The company announced a phased-in reopening of its resort in Shanghai.
Disney stores and restaurants were reopened to guests with strict rules on wearing masks and social distancing.
Just like in Orlando, the theme park in Shanghai is still closed.
“We all want the business to reopen,” said Dr. Raul Pino with the Florida Department of Health.
Pino said he agrees with the phased-in re-opening approach.
“It has to be a gradual opening. It has to be smart. It has to be intelligent, and you have to have the ability to retract if you need to,” he said.
Demings’ economic task force meeting will be live-streamed on Wednesday morning.
