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Florida Sen. Rick Scott has a simple message for spring break revelers amid the coronavirus crisis: “Get off the beach.”
“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,” Scott told CNN.
Scott, a Republican, spoke out as disturbing images showed vacationers continuing to throng to Florida’s sun-splashed beaches despite warnings to implement social distancing during the crisis.
Gov. Ron DeSantis, a fellow Republican, said Thursday that “the party is over” even as he failed to close all beaches in the winter tourism Mecca.
Miami and Ft. Lauderdale had ordered beaches closed, but most beaches along the Gulf Coast have remained open until Thursday.
The governor said Clearwater Beach closed Thursday and insisted that others would have to abide by social distancing rules.
“The party’s over in Florida. You’re not going to be able to congregate on any beach in the state,” DeSantis said.
Health officials recommend avoiding gatherings of 10 or more people — an edict violated on Florida’s most crowded beaches.
Scott himself is in self-quarantine after being exposed to the virus at a dinner at President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club with Brazilian officials who tested positive. He said beachgoers should only hit the sand for lonely walks in isolated areas.
“Get off the beach unless you can figure out how to be completely isolated from anyone else,” Scott said.
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