Authorities Worry As Spring Breakers Party During Pandemic
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) - Spring Break in Miami Beach has taken a serious turn as police officers and SWAT teams mixing in with crowds over the weekend arrested more than 1,000 people, many of whom refused to comply with curfew shutting businesses down at 8 p.m.
"We were at Goldrush and they shut us down once," said Edward Franklin of Orange County. "We reopen, or they kept it going again and then we got shut down twice."
A beachside-birthday Franklin attended was shut down as the city declared Saturday an emergency curfew due to an overwhelming number of visitors.
Miami's mayor said there has also been more violence in 2021, in a county that has 1,000 new COVID-19 cases a day and 50-100 hospitalizations.
"The whole country has been in lockdown for a year and there are people that want to get out and get somewhere and let loose," said Mayor Dan Gelber of Miami.
The TSA has reported a record number of travelers over the past week, a concern as infections are still rising in at least 15 states, despite vaccination efforts accelerating.
