MIAMI BEACH STOPS THE FUN
City declares state of emergency over unruly crowds during spring break
THRONGS of revellers flocking here for spring break have become so uncontrollable that authorities declared a state of emergency on Saturday and imposed a curfew meant to quash the party.
The move marks the second year in a row that fun has been curtailed at the popular spring break destination — last March because the pandemic was just ramping up and this year due to unruly and destructive crowds.
Authorities said visitors must be off the street and that restaurants would close their doors at 8pm in South Beach, the epicentre of the city’s nightlife, following an increase of violence and vandalism over recent days.
“It kind of sucks,” said John Perez, a student from Texas having beers with a group of friends on the sand, despite police efforts to prevent alcohol consumption on the beach.
“It’s been so much fun out here, you know, like we got the warm weather, you got the beach,” Perez, 22, said.
An aerial photo released by police on Saturday night showed the city’s main strip, Ocean Drive, empty just two hours after the curfew went into effect.
Miami Beach is no stranger to uncontrollable spring break crowds, but this year, with approximately
13 per cent of United States residents vaccinated, the atmosphere is particularly festive and the illusion that the pandemic is now under control is pervasive.
“Just go get your vaccine y’all so that you could come out here and have a good time like us because we vaccinated, baby,” Jalen Rob, another student from Texas, said.
Another man, with his face painted like the Joker, stood on top of a car yelling “Covid’s over, baby!” while waving an American flag, in a video posted to Twitter by filmmaker Billy Corben.