Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a statewide stay-at-home order on Wednesday as the Sunshine State’s coronavirus cases neared 7,000, according to a report.

DeSantis, a Republican, said the order would go into effect at midnight Thursday and excludes essential services, the NBC station in Miami reported.

“Given the unique situation in Florida I’m going to be doing an executive order today directing all Floridians to limit movements and personal interactions outside the home to only those necessary to obtain or provide essential services or conduct essential activities,” DeSantis said at a news conference.

The governor came under mounting criticism to close down the state as hordes of spring breakers descended on Florida in recent weeks and beaches remained open.

His order follows President Trump predicting 100,000 to 240,000 Americans could die from the pandemic – even with mitigation efforts like social distancing.

Florida has 6,955 cases and the death toll is 87.

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