Florida mayor accuses DeSantis of ‘mixed messages’ amid anger over Spring Break influx

Covid-19 infection rates are on the rise in state over the last week

Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber, a Democrat, has accused Florida's governor of "mixed messages" about coronavirus guidelines at a time when people are flocking to the state to celebrate Spring Break.

Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, has prohibited local and city officials from enforcing mask mandates amid the pandemic.

"The problem is that the message people are getting from the governor and others is that they shouldn't have to worry about this. And that's the hardest thing," Mr Gelber told CNN on Tuesday morning. "They're getting mixed messages, including from the most prominent voice in the state."

Spring Break has already taken the state by storm, and Mr Gelber said there were "too many people coming that want to just let loose in ways that are unacceptable."

Pictures and videos from the past week have shown large crowds gathering at beaches and local restaurants with few people wearing masks.

About 100 people were arrested and two officers were injured due to Spring Break crowds in Miami over the weekend, city officials revealed. Arrests have involved disorderly crowds and the seizure of weapons and drugs, according to the Miami Beach Police Department.

Read more:

• Sturgeon reopens pubs from April - follow Covid news live
• Why are countries suspending AstraZeneca vaccine rollouts? Everything we know so far
• Lockdown roadmap dates: What is reopening and when?

With Florida a key state where variants are spreading, health officials have warned about how these gatherings could impact Covid-19 infection numbers. Officials were unable to issue citations to residents though for not following coronavirus measures like mask wearing.

Mr Gelber said his experts have told him that variants could now easily spread elsewhere with the increase of visitors.

"We don't want it because honestly it's not healthy for our residents. And we certainly don't want to be a hub of a problem that affects other communities locally or elsewhere," he told CNN.

Since officials are not allowed to enforce mask mandates due to Mr DeSantis preventing those restrictions, city leaders have implemented other measures to encourage people to still practise coronavirus measures. This included officials handing out 7,000 masks on Saturday alone.

But encouraging mask wearing was more difficult now that Mr DeSantis was telling people that there would be no mask mandate in the state, frustrating other officials.

"Every time we open up without the mask mandate, we've had a surge that's caused more people to die," Mr Gelber said.

Cases in Florida were 1.9 per cent higher than the previous week, according to the Covid Tracking Project. A majority of new infections have come from the state's two largest counties: Miami-Dade and Broward.

Florida has reported more than 1.9 million cases since the start of the pandemic and 32,266 residents have died from the novel virus, as of Tuesday morning.