Around this time last year, people flooded the beaches of Florida in celebration of spring break, despite a global pandemic. You might remember the one gentleman, Brady Sluder, who said, “If I get corona, I get corona... At the end of the day, I’m not going to lewt it stop me from partying.” He ended up apologizing afterward but that doesn’t negate the fact that he was already in Miami as the breakout continued.
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Apparently, not many others have learned from last year’s debacle. Thousands of people flooded to Miami to celebrate spring break, specifically South Beach where very little social distancing or mask-wearing was happening. This forced Mayor Dan Gelber to declare a state of emergency and an 8 p.m. curfew that was enforced on Saturday night. Authorities are telling tourists to remain inside their hotel rooms during curfew hours.
“Too many are coming, really, without the intention of following the rules, and the result has been a level of chaos and disorder that is just something more than we can endure,” Gelber told CNN.
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Police in Miami Beach made “at least a dozen” arrests after the curfew was put in place while it’s reported that police had to use pepper balls after a fight broke out at a restaurant on Ocean Drive.
The 8 p.m. curfew is expected to stay in effect until Tuesday while roads to Miami Beach from the mainland will be closed at 9 p.m. for the days to come.