Miami Imposes Curfew Following Night of Disorder from Spring Breakers

The city of Miami has declared a state of emergency over concerns large crowds gathering for spring break pose a coronavirus risk.

A 20:00-06:00 curfew has been announced in Miami Beach and will remain in effect for at least 72 hours.

Traffic restrictions are in place during the curfew, while businesses in the busy South Beach area must close.

Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber said thousands of tourists had brought “chaos and disorder” to the city.

Mayor Gelber told CNN: “It feels like a rock concert, wall-to-wall people over blocks and blocks.

“If you’re coming here to go crazy, go somewhere else.”

Spring break is a holiday period for schools and universities that attracts thousands of students to Florida and other warm weather destinations around the country.

Officials warned tourists to “vacation responsibly or be arrested” prior to the holiday period, and a county-wide midnight coronavirus curfew was already in place due to the pandemic.

However, the Miami Beach area was thronged with revelers over the weekend, and many did not appear to be wearing masks or socially distancing.

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One city official described South Beach, which includes the world famous Ocean Drive, as being “overwhelmed” by crowds over the weekend.

“You couldn’t see pavement and you couldn’t see grass,” city manager Raul Aguila said.

He added that the emergency measures were “necessary not only to protect our residents but our visitors, including our spring breakers who we want to keep safe”.

On March 21, Miami Beach police told CNN they had arrested at least a dozen people after the curfew had come into force.

https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=BBCWorld&dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1373448655189942273&lang=en-gb&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fnews%2Fworld-us-canada-56476904&siteScreenName=BBCWorld&theme=light&widgetsVersion=e1ffbdb%3A1614796141937&width=550px Until the measures are lifted, police will prevent pedestrians or vehicles entering the South Beach area’s main party strips.

Raul Aguila told the Miami Herald that he has recommended keeping the emergency measures in place until April 12.

However, the emergency orders will expire on March 23 unless they are extended by local authorities.

Florida continues to be a coronavirus hotspot in the US. The state has recorded nearly two million of the country’s 29 million infections since the pandemic began.