New Years Eve parties swept through Tampa Bay on the same day Florida broke coronavirus record

TAMPA – New Year’s celebrations raged across the Tampa Bay area on the same day Florida broke its record for coronavirus cases with more than 17,000 cases added in one day.

Administrations and agencies on both sides of the bay had encouraged residents to celebrate in safety. Tampa Mayor Jane Castor tweeted tips for staying home from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The city of St. Petersburg told residents on Twitter, “Celebrating the NYE virtually or with members of your own household (who are constantly taking action to reduce the spread of COVID-19) presents the lowest risk of spread. “

But crowds gathered in Ybor City, Channelside, St. Petersburg and local bars to party that almost looked like pre-coronavirus – with few masks and little social distancing in sight.

Videos posted on social media show DJs playing indoors in front of large crowds and tables of revelers with few masks.

Crowds danced side by side to the sound of music outside the Coyote Ugly Saloon in Tampa. Party-goers flocked to the streets as Ybor City clubs closed at 2:30 a.m.

The antics of the night drew criticism and onlookers on social media. Some tweeted photos of the growing crowd, while others wondered what the effect would be on the capacity of hospitals in the area.

The upward trend in coronavirus cases is likely to continue after the New Year’s holidays when younger people bring the coronavirus back to their multigenerational homes, said Dr Marissa Levine, professor of public health and family medicine at the University of South Florida.

“If one of those young adults we see at these parties brings them home to those type of households, that’s where we run the risk of more serious cases, more hospitalizations and more deaths,” Levine said.

Levine had hoped that “people would keep their guard” and stick to small outdoor gatherings with masks to celebrate the holiday.

“I’m not very surprised, because on every holiday we’ve seen similar types of approaches recently,” Levine said. “But we’ve never been in this position before, we have a record number of cases. And we are also trying to mount a vaccination campaign, which could be hampered if our health care system continues to be stressed and potentially overloaded. It could definitely end our ability to vaccinate people.

Additionally, Levine said, a mutated version of the virus, which is more transmissible than the original strain, has already made its way to Florida and could have spread through the crowd.

“I think the next few weeks or months could be, as many have said, some of the darker days,” Levine said. “We are already seeing our hospitals stressed. We have seen the cases increase. We have seen hospitalizations increase. In all likelihood, deaths will also continue to increase. “

The pandemic has put the brakes on the traditional Times Square celebration that typically takes a million people onto the streets to watch the ball fall. The government in Washington, DC, has banned the sale of alcohol after 10 p.m. to minimize the party. And in Florida, Broward County has instituted a 1 a.m. curfew to get residents home earlier.

But still, massive parties took place across the state. CBS Miami reported that South Beach and Fort Lauderdale Beach were packed with revelers, although the cities have ended their typical big celebrations.

Social media posts show Miami’s Wynwood Walls & Arts District, filled with revelers watching live music and dancing. Hundreds of people filled the street in South Beach for the holidays – some with masks, some not.

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