TAMPA – The crowded New Year’s Eve celebrations took place across the Tampa Bay area on the same day that Florida broke its coronavirus case record with more than 17,000 cases added in one day.
Administrations and agencies on both sides of the bay encouraged residents to celebrate safely. Tampa Mayor Jane Castor tweeted advice to stay home Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The city of St. Petersburg told residents on Twitter: “Celebrating NYE virtually or with members of your own home (who are consistently taking steps to reduce the spread of COVID-19) poses the least risk of spread.”
But crowds gathered in Ybor City, Channelside, St. Petersburg and at local party bars that looked almost pre-coronavirus – with few masks and little social distance in sight.
Videos posted on social media show DJs playing indoors for large crowds and party tables with few masks.
Crowds danced shoulder to shoulder to the music outside the Coyote Ugly Saloon in Tampa. Party people crowded the street while Ybor City clubs closed at 2:30 am
The antics of the night attracted critics and curious on social media. Some tweeted photos of the growing crowd, while others wondered what the effect on the area’s hospital capacity will be.
The upward trend in coronavirus cases is expected to continue after the New Year holiday, when young people bring the coronavirus back to their multi-generational homes, said Dr. Marissa Levine, professor of public health and family medicine at the University of South Florida .
“If any of these young adults we are seeing at these parties are bringing home this type of family, this is where we are at risk of more serious cases, more hospitalizations and more deaths,” said Levine.
Levine hoped that “people would keep their guard off” and limit themselves to small outdoor meetings with face masks to celebrate the holiday.
“I am not terribly surprised because every recent holiday has seen similar types of approaches,” said Levine. “But we have not been in this position before, we have a record number of cases. And we are also trying to mount a vaccination campaign, which can be undermined if our health care system remains stressed and potentially overwhelmed. This could definitely end our ability to vaccinate people. “
In addition, said Levine, a mutant version of the virus, which is more transmissible than the original strain, has already arrived in Florida and may have spread to the crowd.
“I think the next few weeks or months are likely to be, as many have said, some of the darkest days,” said Levine. “We are already seeing our hospitals under stress. We saw the cases increase. We saw hospitalizations increase. It is very likely that deaths will continue to increase as well. “
The pandemic halted the traditional celebration of Times Square, which usually takes a million people on the streets to watch the ball fall. The government in Washington, DC, banned the sale of alcoholic beverages after 10 pm to keep the parties to a minimum. And in Florida, Broward County instituted a 1 am curfew to get residents home early.
Even so, massive parties took place across the state. CBS Miami reported that South Beach and Fort Lauderdale Beach were packed with revelers, although the cities ended their typical big celebrations.
Social media posts show Miami’s Wynwood Walls & Arts District filled with partygoers watching live music and dancing. Hundreds filled the streets of South Beach for the holiday – some with masks, others not.
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