Miami Beach, Florida Mayor Dan Gelber (D) said in an interview released on Monday that hundreds of people celebrating spring break in South Florida were arrested last weekend for ignoring coronavirus guidelines.
Speaking to CBS News, Gelber said people were gathering in very large groups and that at least two policemen were injured this weekend while dealing with the crowd.
“We have a lot of people coming in, we have a lot of people acting and we have COVID at the same time, so it’s a triple threat,” said Gelber. “If you are coming here to disturb, then it is not worth the money for us. It is not worth the prescription. You cannot pay our community to endure the kind of inappropriate and inappropriate conduct that we have seen.”
The police reportedly dispersed a “rebel” crowd of spring breakers in Miami Beach on Friday, throwing pepper balls at the crowd. The incident began when police officers found a crowd of 200 people blocking an intersection.
“If you’re coming here because you think anything goes, it’s going to be a terrible time. We’re going to arrest you. We’ve made hundreds and hundreds of arrests,” added Gelber.
CBS News notes that Miami Beach extended its pandemic state of emergency until March 17, which includes a midnight curfew.
“I think what we see happening now is that there are not many other destinations open, or they are cold, and plane tickets are very, very cheap … so we are getting a lot of people coming here,” Gelber told CBS. last week. “It doesn’t seem that many of them seem to know that there is a pandemic.”