The city of Miami Beach has declared a state of emergency imposing an 8 pm curfew and closing bridges at 10 pm to non-local traffic, as maskless crowds have overwhelmed the city’s entertainment district at night.
The combination of Florida’s mild spring weather and the lower pandemic restrictions than in many other states had brought overwhelming crowds, Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber told CNN Newsroom anchor Ana Cabrera about the order, explaining that the city had been dealing with “a level of chaos and disorder that is just something more than we can endure,” with the crowds getting “worse every single day.”
“During the day, it’s pretty tame,” Gelber said, saying that visitors were enjoying the beaches and the hotels and restaurants were “doing a pretty good job with outdoor dining.” However, he continued, the entertainment district at night “becomes a whole different scene,” which he described as “like a rock concert, wall-to-wall people over blocks and blocks.”
The violence had been escalating, said Gelber, with someone shooting a weapon into the air and what he described as “a riot.” The city “feels like a tinder…like any match could set it off,” he said.
“We don’t want to wait to take these kinds of actions in the wake of a tremendous tragedy. We want to take it now when we’ve seen enough. We have definitely seen enough.”
Cabrera mentioned that Miami Beach had made over 900 arrests — 300 of them for felony offenses — as they fought to control the spring break crowds. At least half of those arrested were from outside of Florida.
“So what is you message to people now perhaps eyeing a summer vacation in Florida?” asked Cabrera.
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