Florida will start to reopen May 4, but for now Miami-Dade and two other counties won't be included - CNN, CNN

(CNN) Florida will reopen certain businesses throughout much of the state on Monday, Gov . Ron DeSantis said.

“We will get Florida back on its feet by using an approach that is safe, smart, and step by step,” DeSantis said on Wednesday.

DeSantis said restaurants and retail spaces could let customers inside, but only at 30% capacity, and people must adhere to social distancing guidelines from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Restaurants can offer outdoor seating if tables are 6 feet apart.

“Outdoor transmission, as far as we’ve seen, has been more difficult than the indoor climate controlled transition,” the governor said, adding that medical officials recommended the outdoor seating change.

Movie theaters can’t reopen yet. The governor said it wouldn’t be prudent, and it would be difficult to maintain social distancing. Bars, fitness centers and places that offer personal services, likes hair styling, also will open later.

People can schedule non-urgent surgeries again, he said, though it depends on a hospital’s ability to handle surges in cases and availability of protective equipment.

DeSantis said the new measures he announced would not include three of the counties hit hardest by coronavirus. They are Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties, which account for about 6.2 million of Florida’s residents, according to US Census data .

The governor on Tuesday lauded the state’s success in tackling the outbreak. He slammed the media for its prediction – which he said was “wrong” – that Florida’s hospital system would be overwhelmed with almost a half million or more Covid – 19 hospitalizations.

During his joint press conference at the White House ) with President Donald Trump, DeSantis accused some states of issuing “the most draconian orders” and reeled off a list of states he felt Florida had outperformed in its handling of the outbreak.

“Everyone in the media was saying Florida was going to be like New York or Italy, and that has not happened,” he said. “We had a tailored and measured approach that not only helped our numbers be way below what anybody predicted, but also did less damage to our state going forward.”

DeSantis largely credits Florida’s reportedly low infection numbers to his own office’s swift action, which included issuing a safer-at-home order that went into effect April 3.

Critics hammered DeSantis for his alleged inaction before the order was issued. The governor has said he decided to take action April 1 after noticing Trump’s change of demeanor during a news conference the previous day. Trump urged Americans to prepare “for the hard days that lie ahead” during that appearance.

The Governor’s office provided CNN with graphs and charts that it said show how Florida fared better than several states in metrics such as hospitalization, intensive care admissions and per capita deaths. CNN has not independently confirmed the data.

Experts have told CNN that local officials wield the real power to protect residents in a pandemic, and in Florida’s case, several jurisdictions made moves before the state – with some acting well before DeSantis issued his statewide order.

Some local actions included: