South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
Could beachgoers be dropping their guard?
Huge crowds packing the surf at Fort Lauderdale beach are raising concerns that complacency could lead to a resurgence of COVID-19.
The scene is reminiscent of Spring Break just as the coronavirus was beginning to spread across South Florida.
Some attribute the behavior to pandemic fatigue — the desire to escape restrictions that have constrained people’s activity all summer.
On weekends, “we’re functioning like it’s spring break or a holiday,” said Alex O’Connor, Fort Lauderdale’s Ocean Rescue chief. “The beach is free and a lot of things are still closed down and there’s nowhere else for people to go.”
But lifeguards — too consumed with swimmers floating out too far or rip currents — don’t have the time to become social distancing police. On Sunday alone, lifeguards pulled 14 people out of the water, in addition to dealing with a missing child and a medical emergency.
“It’s not a priority,” O’Connor said of enforcing the social distancing and mask mandate. “We’re working hard because the beach is crowded.”
Even with the number of COVID-19 cases falling — and w i t h G ov. Ro n D e Sa n t i s preaching a return to normal life — now is not the time to let down our guard, experts say.
“I feel like people are relaxing too much, returning to activity where they are not socially distancing effectively and not wearing a mask,” said Dr. Cindy Prins, an epidemiologist at the University of Florida.
“I do think people have pandemic fatigue, especially because we missed a large portion of the summer and people are eager to go outside and do things — but not thinking about the proper precautions,” she said.
She worries that cases could spike as people get complacent. Even “people who were on board early on are now getting away from that” as they get tired of living under restrictions.
Broward County Vice Mayor Steve Geller has similar concerns.
“If people say ‘happy days are here again, we beat COVID