Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis tried to lighten the mood with a joke during a press briefing about the coronavirus pandemic.

“Florida is ground zero for the nursing home, we’re God’s waiting room,” DeSantis told media Sunday. “We have a huge number of facilities, a huge number of residents.”

According to WPLG Local 10 TV, “God’s waiting room” is a longtime joke about retirees moving to Florida. DeSantis noted that “folks 65 and up” are among those most vulnerable to COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus.

The Tampa Bay Times reports 19 more people died from coronavirus Sunday, bringing the state’s death toll to 1,094. WFLA reports The Sunshine State confirmed nearly 2,000 new cases of COVID-19 over the weekend, for a total of 31,528 cases and nearly 5,000 hospitalizations.

DeSantis said Sunday he believes parts of Florida have passed the peak, noting that cases in the Orlando area — where worldwide tourist attractions like Disney World and Universal Studios have been closed for weeks — have been curving downward since April 1.

Florida Democratic Party chair Terrie Rizzo, however, didn’t appreciate the Republican governor’s attempt at comedy.

“Governor, this isn’t a time to do stand-up, it’s a time to stand up and lead," Rizzo told WPLG.

Thomas Unnasch, co-director for the Center for Global Health Infectious Disease Research at the University of South Florida, also cautioned that it may be too early to say coronavirus has peaked in Florida without more testing.

“We will really not know if we’re past it until we actually see a week or two of steadily declining case numbers across the Tampa Bay area, and the entire state, before we can really say we’re on the downslope,” Unnasch told WUSF Public Media on Friday.

As of Monday morning, the U.S. has nearly 1 million cases of coronavirus confirmed and over 54,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.

DeSantis COVID-19 presser from Orlando - Sunday WATCH LIVE: Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks on COVID-19 pandemic in Florida from Orlando Health Posted by WPLG Local 10 on Sunday, April 26, 2020

MORE ON CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources

Gov. Cuomo on reopening schools, summer school, remote learning and district budgets

As coronavirus deaths in NY fall below 400, Cuomo gives some details about phased reopening

The week we went from defense to offense; CNY’s coronavirus fight turns a corner

Coronavirus treatment: NY hospitals quietly testing heartburn drug famotidine