The coronavirus pandemic forced many countries to close their borders and limit social activities. In the United States, however, there was an antagonistic scenario in the midst of college spring break, known as Spring break: many students are more concerned with partying than taking care of themselves.
In some of the major North American cities, borders are closed, restaurants, bars and dive shops have lowered their blinds, supermarket shelves are empty, and professional sports have been canceled. However, there are still many beaches and places full of students who are unaware of the gravity of the situation that the world is going through.
Miami Beach and Fort Lauderdale, two of the most popular destinations for students, are closed, but other waterfront areas in Florida, as well as Texas and the southern states, are full of young people ready to have fun as if there wasn’t a morning. Many of them decided to extend their vacations one more week due to the closure of universities in the United States. The goal of this measure was preventive quarantine, but the students mistakenly took it as a “long rest.”
“As cities and states across the country close bars, restaurants, and other hangouts, Pinellas County plans to keep the beaches open until state emergency officials request the closure of popular destinations,” the Tampa Bay Times site reported. . The White House and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) urged the population to avoid meetings of more than ten people, to try to put a stop to the spread of the coronavirus.
However, officials in towns that still serve as a youth vacation destination appear to be on the side of the students. For example, the city of Daytona Beach in Florida announced that it would keep the reserves and beaches open at the beginning of the week.
South Padre Island, on the south coast of Texas, experiences a similar scenario. The day after the World Health Organization (WHO) classified the coronavirus as a pandemic, no party was canceled and no preventive measures were taken. Those who are outraged by this situation are the residents of the area, according to the local media.
Last Monday, March 16, South Padre belatedly decided to cancel the larger-scale events that were scheduled, but the remaining ones, the beach, and other popular venues would still remain open. In other parts of the country, colleges and universities canceled classes but announced a remote online learning format, similar to the one implemented in Argentina, for the rest of the semester.
The students took it as if it were a snow day and not a quarantine, and crowded the bars. For this reason, many cities decided to go one step further and close the premises, especially in light of the festivities scheduled for St. Patrick’s Day.
From perfil.com
