TAMPA, Fla. — Vice President Mike Pence met with Gov. Ron DeSantis to discuss the coronavirus situation on the same day Florida health officials reported a new single-day record total of 10,000 new cases.

Pence and DeSantis encouraged everyone, especially young adults, to wear masks in public spaces and avoid large gatherings. Both wore masks when not speaking.

“It is not an either/or choice,” Pence said Thursday. “We can slow the spread. We can flatten the curve, but it will take all of us to do it.”

Pence also said Republicans are “excited” about coming to Jacksonville in August for the Republican National Convention, noting that unspecified “sophisticated plans” are in the works to protect attendees.

Democrats criticized the White House and DeSantis for what they said was needlessly endangering lives by opening the economy too soon and not mandating masks. “They have put politics ahead of public health,” said U.S. Rep. Donna Shalala, President Bill Clinton’s Health and Human Services secretary.