BRADENTON, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said of about 1,000 medical personnel on the way to the state, nearly 100 of them will arrive in the Tampa Bay area in the fight against COVID-19.
His announcement came during a visit to Blake Medical Center in Bradenton, where he held a press conference with local and state leaders and health experts. It came on a day where 95 more Floridians are confirmed to have died from the virus; three more non-residents are dead, as well.
During the press conference, the governor said Florida is set to receive an expedited shipment of the drug remdesivir as a treatment option for patients.
An early study of the drug found it may appear to help some coronavirus patients recover faster.
RELATED: VERIFY: What is remdesivir?
DeSantis said that while percent positivity has continued to be well above the CDC recommended levels, he pointed out that those rates have plateaued some in recent days.
On Saturday, the Florida Department of Health reported 10,360 new positive COVID-19 cases on July 10. Of the 87,065 test results, 12.64 percent of those tests were positive.
The state has yet to report a day in July where the number of newly-confirmed cases was fewer than 6,000.
A total of 4,197 Florida residents have died during the pandemic, the Florida Department of Health said. And 104 non-resident deaths are also listed on the health department's report.
Of those 4,197 deaths, 2,082 have been at long-term care facilities. However, DeSantis said that only 2.8 percent of long-term care facility staff tests positive for coronavirus. He said staff is tested every 2 weeks and that more than 150,000 tests are given solely to long-term care staff throughout the state.
According to DeSantis, 2.4 million people have been tested for COVID-19 in Florida, which results in about 1 in every 9 people have been tested.
The governor also said he is working with the White House to find ways to speed up the processing of COVID-19 tests.
Watch the full press conference here:
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