But in Miami Beach, Mayor Dan Gelber was taking a different approach, determined to avoid a new burst of virus cases in his city. We will arrest you and it will ruin your time here. For experts, the idea of college students gathering in bars and drinking, especially in a place like Florida — which never adopted a mask mandate — is a nightmare scenario. Those in other states, including spring break hot spots in Texas and California, are closely watching the turnout in Florida.
Michael Daignault, an emergency physician in Los Angeles, now dreads those times of year known for gathering with friends or family. The happiness that usually surrounds Christmas or Thanksgiving was instead replaced with a fear of a spike in patients — and more deaths and hospitalizations. I mean, there's not a mask to be seen. It's very frustrating. Rideshare issues: Uber, Lyft ban passenger who ripped off her mask, coughed on driver; police investigating.
Last year, spring break came toward the beginning of the pandemic before some states, including Florida, had ordered people to stay home to contain the virus. After alarming images spread on social media of college students in Florida drinking, dancing and getting up close without masks, spring break became one of the first big casualties of the pandemic as the U. While young people are less apt to experience the worst of the disease, they can get infected and spread COVID to others.
Some partygoers last year mocked transmission of the virus, depicting themselves as invincible to the disease when they flocked to Florida for their spring break retreat. Partier sorry: Spring break partier apologizes after viral 'if I get corona, I get corona' comment. At the end of the day, I'm not gonna let it stop me from partying," Brady Sluder said in a TV interview in Miami that gained widespread notoriety.
Whatever happens, happens. More than million vaccine doses have been distributed in the U. At this point last year, a vaccine had not even been created.
The numbers of infections have continued to slow, something experts say could be because of a combination of successful mitigation strategies, less testing and more vaccinations. The U. But slowing cases and a rise in vaccines is also mixed with new worries: New variants have spread across the U.
Now, just six years since fed-up officials approved a list of ordinances specifically targeted to halt the madness, Spring Break has become somewhat of a sensitive topic for many locals and even city officials, who remain laser-focused on preventing Panama City Beach from reverting to its old ways.
Along with larger-than-normal crowds, crime on the Beach is also down significantly this month compared to March of , before Hurricane Michael steamrolled the Panhandle and the COVID pandemic shuddered the world. According to information provided by the Panama City Beach Police Department, only 18 people were arrested between March 1 to March 24 for having alcohol on the beach — 95 fewer than during the same month in There were also fewer citations written, fewer adult arrests and 11 fewer juvenile arrests.
More: Should Northwest Florida summer swimmers worry about sharks in the Gulf? Experts weigh in. However, beachgoers still seem to have an issue with being told they can't swim in the Gulf of Mexico under double-red flags. After temporarily restricting access to the water for the first time this year on March 17 because of rip currents, 27 people were ticketed for refusing to get out of the water in just three days, Beach police said.
That, however, can't accurately be compared to because PCB didn't ramp up efforts to control the issue until last July, when code enforcement officers were given the ability to cite people for the violation. While officials agree that the Beach is booming based on anecdotal evidence, Dan Rowe, president and CEO of Visit Panama City Beach, said that official bed tax collections for March won't be available for about a month.
He added that while there were some college students visiting PCB, the majority of tourists were families, many of whom came to the area to vacation in an open environment where they can socially distance. That proved the area was successfully shifting to a year-round, family-friendly destination and wasn't dependent on rambunctious spring crowds.
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