The COVID-19 pandemic is in full-swing and so is spring break in Miami.
According to the city, about 100 people have been arrested over the weekend after crowds gathered in Florida’s Miami Beach.
The police department tweeted that a total of 30 arrests were made just on Saturday night.
On Friday night, two police officers were injured and sent to the hospital following “unruly behavior and bottle throwing.”
On Twitter, the Miami Beach Police revealed they used pepper balls to disperse the “disorderly” group.
In addition to arrests, police seized weapons and drugs, city of Miami Beach spokeswoman Veronica Payssé told CNN,.
CNN affiliate WPLG reported that all officers have been working 12-hour shifts.
Payssé revealed that due to COVID-19 protocols, policing crowds during spring break has become much harder since Florida doesn’t allow police to fine people for violating mask mandates.
They also cannot enforce wearing masks.
KIRO7 notes that in addition to an increased police presence, there are also bans on open alcohol containers, curfew, and capacity limits on the beach, but that hasn’t stopped many seeking a vacation.
Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber said that there has been a lot of “spring break activity” with people coming to the area to “let loose.”
"We are concerned," the mayor told CNN. "It's very challenging."
“We’ve got too many people coming, we’ve got too many people acting out and we have COVID at the same time, so it’s a triple threat,” Gelber told WFOR. “If you’re coming here to disrupt, then it’s not worth the money to us. It’s not worth the revenue. You cannot pay our community to endure the kind of inappropriate and improper conduct that we’ve been seeing.”
Gelber gave a stern warning to those coming to the area: “If you’re coming here because you think anything goes, you’re going to have a terrible time. We’re going to arrest you. We’ve made hundreds and hundreds of arrests.
Overall cases in Florida have been on the decline, but that changed recent days, according to The Florida Department of Health. There were 1,973,109 reported COVID-19 cases on Saturday.
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