Miami Beach officials extended the city’s curfew amid an influx of thousands who descended upon the common spring break destination this month.
Interim City Manager Raul Aguila declared a state of emergency on Saturday, putting into effect measures including an 8 p.m. curfew starting that night. A day later, officials voted to extend it for a week.
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Officials warned that if spring breakers continue to travel into the Sunshine State, the curfew could extend into April.
From Friday to Sunday evening, Miami Beach police said they had made more than 50 arrests and confiscated eight firearms. Aguila said there were more than 1,000 arrests and that more than half were of residents from other states. He also noted that the crowd was older than the normal spring break age range. There were a number of clashes between partiers and police officers during this past weekend.
Police resorted to the use of pepper spray balls on Saturday to disperse crowds as SWAT teams and a military-style vehicle were seen on the streets of Miami Beach.
“I believe it’s a lot of pent-up demand from the pandemic and people wanting to get out,” David Richardson, a member of the Miami Beach City Commission, said on Sunday, according to the New York Times. “And our state has been publicly advertised as being open, so that’s contributing to the issue.”
Many have expressed concern about the possibility of community spread of COVID-19 as a result of the hordes of students flocking to Florida to celebrate spring break.
The influx of spring breakers has gone on for much of March.
There were nearly 150 arrests in Miami Beach between March 12-14 when spring breakers turned on officers patrolling the streets. On March 12, roughly 120 were booked into jail after police deployed pepper balls to break up the crowd. Guns, drugs, and cash confiscated by law enforcement earned at least 42 people felony charges.
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As of Monday, more than 2 million Florida residents have contracted COVID-19, with more than 32,000 deaths attributed to the disease statewide, according to the Johns Hopkins University coronavirus tracker.
