Over 150 arrested in Miami over spring break weekend for Covid breaches

Officers clashed with crowds – some without masks – during worst of the behaviour on Friday

Over 150 people were arrested for breaching Covid restrictions to mark the spring break weekend in Miami, causing confrontations that injured two officers.

Officers from the Miami Beach Police Department (MBPD) arrested as many as 120 people on Friday, Local News 10 reported, and used pepper spray to disperse crowds.

The department tweeted that officers were “forced to utilise pepper balls to disperse members of the crowd who were disorderly and surrounding officers” during the worst of the behaviour.

“The crowd ended up turning on those officers,” Ernesto Rodriguez of MBPD told Local News 10.

Read more:

• Trump fans mocked for praising his ‘dreadful’ appearance at Mar-a-Lago event
• House Democrats says they won’t co-operate with Republicans who made false election fraud claims
• Frustrated Fauci urges Trump to tell Republicans to get vaccinated

Miami Beach mayor Dan Gelber told the outlet that it was “really a difficult situation”, with officers across the state of Florida unable to fine those who refuse to wear masks.

“A lot of people are coming here and they are coming here with the wrong intentions,” the mayor added.

“If you are coming here because you think anything goes, you’re going to have a terrible time. We are going to arrest you.”

On Saturday, a further 30 arrests were made as people continued to flout Covid restrictions, although crowds were said to be calmer than on Friday, when two officers were injured.

The two MBPD officers were transported to hospital for care on Friday, according to police, and were both recovering well following the incidents.

Five weapons were also recovered by MBPD on Friday, following the spring break weekend, which typically sees thousands arrive in Florida for a weekend of partying.

It follows a complete ban on spring break a year ago, when Covid first spread throughout the United States and Florida.

Some 1.98 million people have caught the virus in the state, and over 30,000 people have died from it, according to data from the New York Times.

Cases, at the same, continue to be in the region of 4,500 per day, on average – a fall of 21 per cent on the previous week, but still far higher than than the same period a year ago.

Miami Beach’s mayor said last week that officials were “very concerned” about the spring break crowds and the spread of new Covid variants, which he warned could cause another surge infections.