“In a way, it looks like our city is a fuse now,” said Gelber on CNN’s “New Day”. “It is not just a matter of not wearing masks and moving away physically. It is also some of the people who come with bad intentions, so there have been fights and even shootings.
“When you have these levels of crowds, you can’t really manage unless you have huge policing, and the whole mix creates a lot of danger and a lot of worry.”
On Saturday night, the police threw pepper balls in an attempt to disperse the crowds of unmasked partygoers on the city’s main thoroughfares.
Bridges and sidewalks will be closed on these days, from 10 am to 6 am. Local residents, hotel guests and employees are exempt from these rules.
Mayor Raul Águila will have the option to extend it for two more one-week increments until April 13.
“The goal here is really to contain the overwhelming crowd of visitors and the potential for violence and damage to property, whether intentional or not,” said Aguila.
Gelber said he hoped an extension would not be necessary, but “it is necessary now because what we are seeing is unacceptable and we cannot allow our police, our residents and, frankly, our visitors to be in any danger.”
The crowd grew so large that police from nearby agencies came to assist. Gelber said someone shot him in the air on Friday night.
When asked who he blamed for the influx of spring breakers, Gelber said Florida Governor Ron DeSantis did not help open up the state’s economy.
The state opened its doors to tourists after a year of blockades and restrictions on coronavirus across the country.
“At the moment, we are being asked to take all the people who are coming,” said Gelber on “New Day”. “The governor said that everything is open, go down.
“The problem is that we are still in the middle of a pandemic. It is certainly not in our rear view mirror at all and certainly not in my county, in my city. So, this is a challenge … We have a kind of a triple threat from many crowds, many people acting out and a pandemic. And these three together create a very challenging moment. “
CNN’s Melissa Alonso, Theresa Waldrop and Hollie Silverman contributed to this report.