DeSantis pledges no shutdown, citing lower hospitalizations

The number of COVID-19 cases in Florida has doubled week over week, from 23,631 to 48,603, but Gov. DeSantis says he is not considering ordering any further closings.

"Understand that this is an asymptomatic illness for many younger people," he said during a press conference on Tuesday in Juno Beach.

Those aged 15 to 44 account for 52% of Florida's cases, but only make up 17% of the hospitalizations and 3% of deaths.

Blaming the recent rise in cases on transmission at bars, the state ordered them last weekend to stop serving alcohol. The governor signaled Tuesday that would be the extent of the closings.

"We are not going back, closing things," he said. "A lot of it is social interactions, that is natural, you had a lot of different activities going on in different parts of the state, Memorial Day."

In Hillsborough County, however, doctors warn that hospitals could soon be stressed.

RELATED: Pinellas sheriff: Beaches are not the problem, it's the mass gatherings indoors

"The hospitals, and I both predict that those who were infected then, if they need hospitalization, will be beginning to show up at the end of this week and into the next," said Dr. Douglas Holt, the head of the Hillsborough County health department.

Hospitals report the number of available beds has declined to about 20%.

On June 20, the median age of cases in Hillsborough was 28; 10 days later, the median age was 37.

"You have a responsibility to not come into close contact with folks who could be more vulnerable," said DeSantis. "If we protect the vulnerable, we will be able to get through this patch adequately."

In Florida, 16% of the cases are in those over 65. But they account for 85% of the deaths. The governor continues to stress that hospitals are holding their own because most getting sick now do not have to be hospitalized.