Florida senator: ‘Get off the beach’

Florida Sen. Rick Scott (R) early Thursday urged people to stay away from his state’s beaches amid the coronavirus epidemic.

In an interview with CNN’s “New Day,” Scott warned that the risk of exposure to the virus in public places like beaches is too high, adding that people are putting older Americans in jeopardy by ignoring social distancing guidelines.

“Get off the beach. I mean, unless you can figure out how to be completely isolated from anyone else,” Scott told CNN.

“Don’t take a chance that you’re going to be the one to cause your grandparent or your parents or another friend from school to get sick,” he added.

“Get off the beach,” Florida @SenRickScott says for people who are on the state’s beaches despite coronavirus warnings. “Don’t take a chance that you’re going to… cause your grandparent or your parents or another friend from school to get sick.”https://t.co/zpE1Hu9slv pic.twitter.com/yo118zTNYt

— New Day (@NewDay) March 19, 2020

Scott’s remarks come a day after CBS News video of spring breakers in Florida vowing to remain on the beaches went viral.

Twitter users joined in their condemnation of younger Americans seemingly ignoring requests from state and national officials to self-isolate and practice social distancing.

“What they’re doing is bad. We need a refund,” one partygoer, Atlantis Walker, says in the video. “This virus ain’t that serious. There’s more serious things out there like hunger and poverty, and we need to address that.”

The video racked up more than 3 million views less than 24 hours after it was posted.

Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has said that he will not order state beaches to be closed, but said that such areas must adhere to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidelines temporarily banning gatherings of 10 or more people.