More than 4,900 Floridians have died from the coronavirus, according to the department of health.
News 6 asked Gov. Ron DeSantis about it.
“Governor we’ve had nearly 5,000 fatalities in the state. Do you take responsibility for any of those deaths?,” News 6 asked.
“I think anytime you have fatalities for any reason, I think it’s a tragedy, and we certainly have seen fatalities in Florida,” DeSantis said. “Would you rather have our case fatality rate, our deaths per million, which are lower than many of these other states?” DeSantis asked.
Florida currently ranks in the top half of the nation ranked 25th for COVID-19 deaths per capita, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control.
The deaths keep increasing.
This week the state hit a record with 133 deaths reported on Tuesday, and broke the record with 156 deaths reported Thursday.
Friday there were 130 deaths, making this week the deadliest week since the virus started.
"Were not talking about other states, were talking about our state, do you take responsibility for any of those deaths," News 6 asked.
DeSantis did not answer the question during the press conference.
We caught up with him outside of the building and asked again.
"Governor do you have any response to the family members of the people who have died?"
"What would you say to those family members, governor," News 6 asked.
DeSantis did not answer as he got into his waiting vehicle.
The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, whose projections have been used by the White House, currently project Florida could have 10,000 deaths by Sept. 1.