The surge in coronavirus cases in Florida was attributed to residents in their 20s and 30s, Governor Ron DeSantis said in a news conference on Saturday. He said the condition of coronavirus cases in the state was not as bad as the recorded statistics show.

In the news conference, DeSantis, who was seated with medical professionals, pointed out a "significant" increase in coronavirus cases as reported by the radio station, WUSF, in Florida.

In a report from Miami Herald, the governor cited numbers that showe the state's recent spike in cases as primarily caused by Floridians aged 18 to 44.

"They're younger people. They're going to do what they're going to do," DeSantis pointed out.

The said age group is socializing at a greater rate as the state saw more cases coming in, said DeSantis, who did not mandate the use of face masks in indoor public places.

Cell phone data from Tampa Bay Times supports DeSantis's statements

The data showed state resident began going out much more frequently in May than they had during the months of March and April.

That movement could only be partly correlated to the government's actions. Records show that Floridians had more outside-home movement even before the reopening of establishments in the state on May 4.

The median age of reported coronavirus positive patients dropped since testing began in March, from a median of 65 cases to 55.

As he had consistently said in the past weeks, DeSantis noted that younger people are less at risk when it comes to contracting the virus and its other health implications.

Jason Foland, one of the doctors at the news conference and pediatric unit medical director at Ascension Medical Group Sacred Heart in Pensacola, said the younger population may be experiencing signs of a "less severe" strand of the virus. He stressed this theory needs to be studied further.

Foland said getting sick from an aggressive strain of the virus prevents people from going out in the community, not spreading it, but suffering from symptoms such as the common cold makes people more likely to "[spread] it all over the place."

Both Foland and DeSantis said younger people, despite the lower risks, are not immune to the worst outcomes and possible infection of more vulnerable populations.

 "No huge clinical consequences, but in terms of spread and some of the other vulnerable populations, it's certainly a cause for concern," DeSantis said.

With this, DeSantis reiterated the importance of practicing social distancing to mitigate the spread of coronavirus.

DeSantis asked everyone to be "on board" in limiting movement outside the house, focusing on places that are frequentlz visited by the younger Florida residents.

The greater number of young people contracting the virus poses a threat to older populations in the state.

On Sunday, DeSantis urged the younger population to follow the older population in terms of social distancing rules.

"The seniors have been very, very diligent," DeSantis said, asking them to maintain their diligence.

Florida set a new record of positive cases of 4,049 new cases in 24 hours, bringing the total to 93,797, with the spike of coronavirus cases this week.

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