WFLA News Beaches in Clearwater, Florida
Due to coronavirus, the President officially announced America was in a state of “national emergency” on Friday, and ever since, majors cities across the United States have implemented extreme precautionary guidelines in order to stop the spread of the pandemic. However, while there are more than 150 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Florida, beachgoers in Clearwater seem to believe the rules of “social distancing” do not apply to them.
The video below, captured by WFLA News, shows the beaches are packed on March 16. Perhaps, locals believe the notion that viruses typically die out in warm and humid weather, but the CDC has stated on their website, “It is not yet known whether weather and temperature impact the spread of COVID-19. Some other viruses, like the common cold and flu, spread more during cold weather months but that does not mean it is impossible to become sick with these viruses during other months.”
Clearwater Beach, Florida is PACKED today despite “social distancing” recommendations. t.co/WzGydcP1Ja
The CDC added, “At this time, it is not known whether the spread of COVID-19 will decrease when weather becomes warmer. There is much more to learn about the transmissibility, severity, and other features associated with COVID-19 and investigations are ongoing.”
Even though it’s Spring Break, an extremely popular time for college to visit Florida’s beaches, even young people need to be vigilant. On Sunday, Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis and Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber said beaches would be closed from 5th Street to 15th Street, and there would be an 11 p.m. curfew in the entertainment district.
“We can’t have the kinds of crowds we’ve had, the kinds of gatherings,” Mayor Gelber said. “I walked down Ocean Drive yesterday and what I saw was incredibly disturbing, it wasn’t just the typical large gatherings of people, but it was young people who believe they’re invincible and probably don’t really think of this in any way as a health crisis.”
In Fort Lauderdale, the public beach is closed from Harbor Drive to north of Oakland Park Boulevard through April 12.
There’s Extreme Backlash Online For Those Blatantly Not Following Coronavirus Guidelines During The Outbreak
While social media is typically a tool used to show off or update followers with the places you’re traveling or celebrating momentous occasions, those kinds of posts are now being ripped apart online. Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt received so much backlash after tweeting about going to an extremely crowded restaurant with his family on Friday, that he was embarrassed enough to delete his post altogether.
It’s hard to get a citizen to follow the rules when those in top official government positions are ignoring them. COVID-19 is incredibly serious, deadly for the elderly, and while America does everything possible to halt the spread of coronavirus, it’s all for naught if thousands of individuals across the U.S. don’t comply.
Miami’s Mayor reminded everyone during his press conference Sunday, “This is not forever, we’re gonna defeat this disease, there is light at the end of the tunnel.”
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