March is the month of Spring Break for colleges and universities across the country. That changed last year, as the CDC declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, which should have rendered spring break of 2020 non-existent.
In March 2020, many areas across the country were beginning to set stay at home orders, but even then many people were not taking the pandemic seriously. Some never took the pandemic seriously as they refused to wear masks or continued to have large gatherings.
In March of 2020 people did not care enough and March of 2021 people also stopped caring too early. Some people never treated the pandemic with the seriousness they should, but there are others that are under the misconception that because there are vaccines and more and more people are getting vaccinated that the pandemic is over.
Florida is a state that never set a statewide mask mandate, so what they did not do really set the precedent for the events that took place in late March.
One of the most popular spring break destinations is the state of Florida, which every year attracts college students with its beaches and outdoor life.
Multitudes of crowds took to the streets of Florida late March. This is a state that lifted its businesses restrictions back in September, and counties were not allowed to penalize people ignoring mask requirements because of an executive order by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber declared a state of emergency and set an 8 p.m. curfew that would be in place through April 12. This was after areas such as Miami Beach were flooded with maskless and non-social distancing crowds partying and creating chaos. Near the end of March there were many violent confrontations between law enforcement and crowds that ended with many arrests, while law enforcement attempted to enforce the curfew.
It also does not help that DeSantis declared the state of Florida an “oasis of freedom” from COVID-19 restrictions. These kinds of daring statements coming from those in authority validate people’s actions and these are just the consequences. These words encourage people in Florida or those going into Florida to party to do so as they do not have to follow COVID-19 restrictions as opposed to other states.
This is not just the public’s fault — they are not the only ones to blame. Government officials in the state of Florida played a huge role in the actions of the public. By loosening restrictions they opened the flood gate. Their actions gave the public permission to do as they pleased, as if the pandemic was over.
The reality is that we are still in the middle of a pandemic. There are still so many people waiting to get vaccinated and there are different variants popping up in different areas, each of which should be treated differently as each brings different risks.
The public needs to take a look at the massive death toll which as of April 6 sits at 555,109 in the U.S. alone to remind themselves that no money or party is worth more than lives. People should realize they can still have fun while wearing masks and socially distancing.