It’s that time of year again – Spring Break. In a non-pandemic year, this would be the time when college students would flock to vacation spots where they can relax, get some sun and party all night long. With a break from school, students often take advantage of the opportunity to let loose.

The COVID-19 pandemic is not over, but that doesn’t mean that Spring Breakers are staying home binge watching Netflix instead of traveling. No, they are still flocking to popular destinations like Miami Beach. In fact, the Miami Beach police have tweeted about the very large crowds they’re dealing with.

MBPD dealing with very large crowds this evening near 8 Street and Ocean Drive. While taking a subject into custody, Officers were forced to utilize pepper balls to disperse members of the crowd who were disorderly and surrounding officers.1/2

— Miami Beach Police (@MiamiBeachPD) March 13, 2021

Some Spring Breakers are thinking of this break from school as more than a break from school. For many, it is also a break from taking COVID restrictions seriously. Instead of wearing face masks and social distancing, they are choosing not to wear masks and to hang out in large crowds.

Watch the video below to learn more about what Spring Break looks like in Miami Beach, Florida, this year and to hear from one Spring Breaker about why he’s choosing not to wear a face mask.

Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber told CBS Miami, “We’ve got too many people coming, we’ve got too many people acting out and we have COVID at the same time, so it’s a triple threat. If you’re coming here to disrupt then it’s not worth the money to us. It’s not worth the revenue. You cannot pay our community to endure the kind of inappropriate and improper conduct that we’ve been seeing. If you’re coming here because you think anything goes, you’re going to have a terrible time. We’re going to arrest you. We’ve made hundreds and hundreds of arrests.”

While Florida currently does not have a face mask mandate and allows businesses to operate at full capacity, Miami Beach did declare a state of emergency on March 10th which includes a midnight curfew through March 17th.

Does it surprise you that Spring Breakers are ignoring COVID safety best practices during spring break? Do you know anyone who is going to Florida for spring break?