“In a way, it feels like our city is a tinder right now,” Gelber said on CNN’s New Day. “It’s not just about not wearing masks and physically distancing yourself. It’s also that some of the people come with bad intentions, so there have been fights and even shootings.
“When you have so many crowds, you can’t really get by unless you have a tremendous amount of policing, and all of that mix creates a lot of danger and a lot of concern.”
On Saturday evening, police fired pepperballs to break up crowds of mostly maskless parties on the city’s main thoroughfares.
The Miami Beach City Commission met on Sunday evening and stated that the city’s entertainment district would be in a curfew at 8 p.m. Thursday through Sunday through at least March 30th.
Bridges and dams will be closed on these days from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. Residents, hotel guests and employees are exempt from this rule.
City Manager Raul Aguila has the option to extend it for another two weeks until April 13th.
“The goal here is to contain the overwhelming crowd and the potential for violent disruptions and property damage, whether intentional or unintentional,” said Aguila.
Gelber said he hoped an extension was not necessary, but “it is necessary now because what we see is unacceptable and we cannot allow our police, our residents and, frankly, our visitors to enter in any way at risk. ” . “
The rush became so great that police from nearby authorities came in to provide assistance. Gelber said someone fired a shot in the air Friday night.
Last weekend, according to the police, around 100 people were arrested and two officers were injured.
When asked who he blames for the influx of spring breakers, Gelber said that opening up the state economy of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis did not help.
The state has opened its doors to tourists after a year of coronavirus bans and restrictions across the country.
“At the moment we are being asked to take all the people who come with us,” said Gelber on the “New Day”. “The governor said everything is open, come down.
“The problem is that we are still in the middle of a pandemic. It’s certainly not in our rear-view mirror yet, and it’s certainly not in my district, in my city. So this is a challenge. … a triple threat from too many crowds, too many people and a pandemic. And these three together create a very challenging moment. “
CNN’s Melissa Alonso, Theresa Waldrop and Hollie Silverman contributed to this report.
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