For many years Miami has been a spring break destination for young adults to spend their time on the beach and this year Coronavirus has not stopped thousands of people from continuing this tradition. This year especially there has been an overwhelming amount of visitors to Florida, crowding the beaches, bars and restaurants. This has made Florida a hot spot for Coronavirus as the state of Florida surpasses two million cases.
On Thursday night police were called to break up a fight in a bar, the next day food and beverage operations were shut down following safety concerns. Saturday, City Officials declared a state of emergency and imposed an 8pm curfew on the Entertainment District in hopes of slowing the spread and this curfew is now set to be kept in place until April 11th. A day after the curfew was put into place, reports showed Ocean Avenue still packed 30 minutes after the 8pm curfew resulting in SWAT being sent out to disperse the crowds.
The Clevelander Hotel, a very popular vacation spot in Florida has shut down bar and restaurant operations in response to the Covid-19 concerns until at least next weekend. Mayor Gelber said he doesn't "blame them for wanting to close" because it feels like "like this city is under a level of siege."
Miami Beach Police have made over 900 arrests in February and March and said that they’ve called in reinforcements to Miami to add more police presence on the beach. Mayor Dan Gelber said one of the many reasons for the increase in population is due to the cheap flights, he noted that one could get a flight from Philadelphia to Florida for just $50.
Do you think Florida’s State Officials are doing enough to prevent the spread of Covid-19? What other repercussions could the state take in order to prevent more cases throughout the rest of the month?
Sources:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/03/21/miami-beach-state-of-emergency/
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56476904
7 comments:
It is very unfortunate to see these “Spring Breakers” ignoring Covid regulations recommended by the Government to prevent infections. Although it has been a year since Covid-19 has been declared a pandemic, the disease is far from done ravaging the United States. Thousands continue to be hospitalized and the symptoms caused by Covid are can be especially deadly. Some might be quick to point out that, recently, Covid infections have been drastically decreasing. However this is far from the truth, according to Dr. Fauci, this decrease in rates seems to be turning into a plateau which Fauci has explained is often a predictor of future infection surges. Thus, making it especially important, as of now, to take the Covid regulations seriously. As we have seen in Europe, where many countries are beginning to enter a 3rd wave of Covid infections, America could quickly once again be a victim of another Covid infection surge as well. In my opinion, I think that the use of SWAT and police to disperse and arrest the crowd of Spring Breakers was a good step in preventing these large gatherings from occurring. However, I do not believe that Florida State Officials are doing enough to prevent the spread of Covid. For one, they have not even issued a mandatory mask mandate yet. Simply imposing this regulation would drastically reduce the rate of infection in the state and would be an appropriate action to take especially when thousands of ignorant individuals are traveling to Florida for the holidays.
The reality of Florida right now is insane to me. I can't believe that the state is literally using SWAT teams in order to disperse crowds of tourists and that hundreds of people have been arrested for doing something so normal in any year but this one. I'm having trouble even comprehending the photo Ashley attached to this post, as it is so abnormal to see a crowd that big after over a year in lockdown.
While I think that the state's use of a curfew and police action as a way to attempt to keep tourists in check, I believe that enforcing a full lockdown is the only way to effectively reduce the risks the travelers bring. Reading articles about life for locals in Florida is upsetting, as many have been placed at a greater risk for contracting the virus because of irresponsible travelers. I feel as though the state has a responsibility to look out for those who actually live in Florida, some who can't leave their house on certain days because of how dangerously crowed it is. However, shutting down tourism also puts at risk many who rely on Florida's high tourism in order to make an income. Florida officials must grapple with the question of whether ensuring the health and safety of Floridians is worth the cost of limiting businesses and restaurants that rely on travelers. While they seem to have initially decided to enable their tourist economy, the vacationing has clearly gotten out of hand and a change needs to be made.
I feel like the state could do more about trying to regulate the prices to enter florida and maybe have a mandatory lockdown but at the end of the day the will of the people will prevail. People need to understand what they are doing is not safe. Florida can try to close up a little more though. Try out a curfew, try to close hotels and beaches. If this many people are coming to Florida then they need to be able to make sure that Covid won't spread. Many other countries don't have a covid problem anymore and I think I would rather have a harsh month than a boring year. These "spring breakers" need to be taken care of.
It's so weird and shocking to see such large amounts of people carelessly enjoying their spring break and ignoring the reality at hand. I think the state of Florida should have enforced a lockdown before spring break started because the reality is that they attract thousands of "spring breakers" every year. In addition, Florida has a higher population of those at high risk for coronavirus and the lockdown should have been imposed to protect them. These senior citizens may be scared to even visit grocery stores as Claire stated because some college students were bored and wanted to visit the beach.
For whatever reason a lockdown couldn't have been imposed there should have still been efforts to place limits to prohibit such overwhelming crowds statewide. Although these crowds provide economic boost to the state, that is nothing compared to the lives that a value can't be placed on and ultimately the state should have placed their community members lives over revenue and college students should have placed the value of their lives over their spring break.
I think that Florida state officials could do more to prevent the spread of the virus, like create more restrictions and maybe even travel bans. I think the curfew was a good start, but ti does not really do much to stop the spread of the virus. Kids and people will still be out all day, to the beaches that are open and which are probably packed. Not to mention since it is a tourist hub, especially for spring break there are people from all over coming to Florida staying in hotels, etc, which will increase the number of cases in other states when spring break is over. I think that we were so close to things getting better with the vaccine getting pushed out, and that Florida needed to do more to prevent the amount of people that traveled there for break.
I do not think Florida’s State Officials are doing enough to prevent the spread of Covid-19. They can maybe start by enforcing more guidelines and restrictions to help not spread the virus to others. For example, obviously wearing masks and maybe enforcing a capacity. In reality, Florida has a high population of those at risk, so a majority of people or those at risk are in danger if they step out the house. Another downfall is that Florida is a very well-known "spring breakers" spot and it attracts people from all over the world and different age groups. I definitely think trying to get vaccinated to those who are going for spring break or someone at high risk.
I don’t think that Florida’s State Officials aren't doing nearly enough to stop the spread of Covid-19 that continues to hold strong and steady in their state. Though they dealt with this issue of Florida Spring Breakers amidst the pandemic relatively well through arrests made and police presence, that does not account for everything else that has been allowed to happen in the state. I can understand the desire of people to enjoy their vacation by traveling to a place as lively and exciting as Florida after such a dull and closed-off year. However, putting other people's lives at risk just for a little personal enjoyment is frankly despicable behavior and needs to be cracked down upon more than it currently is.
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