Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Miami Beach Police Use Crowd Control Measures To Disperse Spring Breakers
WUSF Public Media: Miami Beach Police Use Pepper Balls, SWAT Teams To Enforce Spring Break Curfew
Miami Beach officials have extended an 8 p.m. curfew for at least another week on Sunday following dozens of arrests as unruly people gathered by the thousands, fought in the streets, destroyed restaurant property and refused to wear masks. The emergency curfew went into effect Saturday night, after SWAT officers in bulletproof vests dispersed pepper spray balls to break up the rowdy, spring break crowds that descended on South Beach. (3/21)
Miami Herald: Miami Beach Commission Extends Spring Break Curfew, Closures
Curfews and causeway closures to control unruly spring break crowds in South Beach will be extended through April 12, the Miami Beach City Commission unanimously decided Sunday during an emergency meeting. An 8 p.m. curfew in South Beach’s entertainment district and a 10 p.m. shutdown of the eastbound lanes of the MacArthur, Julia Tuttle and Venetian causeways will remain in effect Thursday through Sunday for the remainder of spring break. (Vassolo, 3/21)
AP: Police Chief Says Miami Partying "Couldn't Go On Any Longer"
Pointing to over 1,000 arrests in one of the nation’s top party spots, Miami Beach officials warned Sunday that the unruly spring break crowd gathering by the thousands, fighting in the streets, destroying restaurant property and refusing to wear masks has become a serious threat to public safety. During a last-minute meeting Sunday, city officials voted to extend a highly unusual 8 p.m. curfew for another week along famed South Beach, with the possibility of extending it well into April if needed, and stressed this isn’t the typical spring break crowd. They said it’s not college students, but adults looking to let loose in one of the few states fully open during the pandemic. (Kennedy, 3/22)
In related news about spring break —
KVEO-TV: Spring Breakers Are Leaving Soon And Some Are Not Concerned About Taking COVID-19 With Them
If you walked along the beach in front of Clayton’s Beach Bar on South Padre Island this week, you would have thought that COVID-19 never existed. ... But all parties must end. And the students that were out on the beach must return to where they came from. But they weren’t too concerned about the possibility of COVID-19 following them home after their weeklong party on the beach. (Helms, 3/20)
NBC News: 'Chaotic Situation': Puerto Ricans Indignant At Tourists Breaking Covid Mandates
Scenes of American tourists violating Covid-19 measures and mandates while visiting Puerto Rico have stirred indignation among residents worried that their efforts to control the pandemic may be marred as more visitors arrive on spring break trips. (Acevedo, 3/20)
Orlando Sentinel: At Disney World, Spring Break Crowds Are Here, Along With Coronavirus Fears, Too
In Central Florida, there are signs the tourists are returning during the first spring break since the coronavirus pandemic canceled the annual celebration last year. Yet the crowds are coming during what’s a complex juggle of balancing the region’s economic recovery with the threat of COVID-19 and as national news shows paint Florida as a superspreader state. (Russon, 3/20)
KHN: Some Dream — Others Scheme — To Find A Vaccine Before Spring Break
Hawaii, Florida, Seattle and the South of France are on the minds of New York City college students. Those are some of the destinations that undergrads mentioned when asked where they’d go for spring break, if they weren’t grounded by covid-19. “I’d be getting a house with 10 people, with a pool, and we’d be going crazy in Miami,” said Sile Ogundeyin, 22, a senior economics major at Columbia University, who was sitting on the steps of the library with his friends. (Mogul, 3/22)
