The threat of disease didn’t stop hundreds of Spring Breakers from heading to Clearwater Beach in Florida. Unlike many other tourist attractions all over the world that have been left hauntingly deserted, the scene shot from a news chopper showed packed sand with very few open spaces in between. Though Florida currently has at least 328 cases of the pandemic COVID-19 coronavirus, beachgoers appeared to be unconcerned. (1)
Officials were hesitant to close beaches, worried that tourists would flock to hotels and restaurants in even closer quarters. Instead, leaders advised social distancing on the sand. Clearwater city manager Bill Horne told the Tampa Bay Times that informing beachgoers about social distancing would reduce problems. As long as they are approached in a professional manner, he said, most of them will comply. Disease experts, however, disagree. (2)
Disease Spreads Outside, Too
A distinguished professor at the University of Virginia for biocomplexity also weighed in with the Tampa Bay Times. While social distancing is an important practice in slowing the spread of the coronavirus, being outside does not make you immune, Madhav Marathe notes. While outdoor environments provide more air circulation, people still touch things and risk leaving droplets of the virus behind. Anywhere people are clustered can be harmful.
“I think that this is serious enough that people should really take it seriously,” Marathe told reporters. “Strong social interventions are the only solution right now. It is inconvenient, it hurts, but that’s the only solution we have. If you delay these strong measures, then you’re likely to get a spread that is going to be very hard to control.”
Pictures shared of Clearwater beachgoers made it clear that practicing social distancing did not happen. Groups huddled close on towels and under umbrellas, the waters filled with swimmers much closer than 6 feet apart. (2)
A Fragmented Response From Officials
Some Florida beaches had taken the CDC’s recommendations seriously, prompting closures of their beaches. Miami Beach closed its sands on March 14th. Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber announced that spring break was over. “We cannot become a petri dish for a very dangerous virus,” he said. “The party is over.” While a few other beaches followed suit, the state’s beaches did not present a unified response. (3)
Marathe’s concerned about the reaction of partygoers. If only one beach closes, tourists will simply flock to the next one that remains open. This would create an even denser crowd, making social distancing difficult or impossible. Marathe understands that cities are hesitant, mostly due to economic concerns. Without a vaccine for Covid-19, however, the only way to slow the spread of the virus is for people to physically distance themselves from one another. That requires forgoing some activities and gatherings for the time being.
The hesitation of some beaches to close has officials and people from neighboring states worried. Residents in neighboring Georgia told the Tampa Bay Times that they are urging leaders in their state to close the interstates between the two states if beaches don’t close. “I understand there are a lot of stupid Georgians on those beaches,” Richard Lougher of Atlanta said in an email to the Tampa Bay Times, “but I will not feel the least bit sorry for them if they are stranded in Florida for the next 30 days.” (2)
Clearwater Beach Closes As Disease Threat Grows
It appears that concerns and calls for action struck a chord with Clearwater officials; the city declared a state of emergency, ordering all public beaches to close starting on March 23, 2020. The efforts are a reaction to the pandemic–as well as inability, no doubt, of beachgoers to follow CDC suggestions on social distancing. The decision, however, only applies to the sands and not restaurants or businesses on the shore.
Other restrictions are now imposed on the city: bars, pubs, and nightclubs are required to suspend all alcohol sales until April 16, 2020. Restaurants must limit occupancies to 50 percent, and gatherings of more than 10 people are postponed.
Clearwater officials are hoping these efforts and beach closures cause a chain reaction statewide. While some leaders were initially hesitant to make the call, Clearwater Mayor George Cretekos worries what would happen if they hadn’t. “That’s what’s weighing on my mind. If we delay this how many of us will get sick? How many may die?” (4)
