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Miami implemented a beach ban, but beaches in Florida are still packed

Posted at 11:33 PM, Mar 19, 2020
and last updated 2020-03-19 23:33:45-04

FLORIDA (WTXL) — Francis X. Suarez, the mayor of Florida's largest county, Miami-Dade County, ordered all public beaches to close due to coronavirus concerns, but it's not a mandate around the state.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday, banned gatherings of more than 10 people on the state's beaches, after concerns were raised by large spring break turnouts.

But people still can go to the beaches, he said, if they respect the guidelines of at least six feet of distancing.

That seems unlikely for many of the college-age people crowding the beaches.

"It's crazy, it just seems like each day it's almost like a ghost town now at night, especially when we first got here," said Paige Geatz, a Bowling Green State University student. "Like the released peoples in the shops were kind of, I've been, and now you walk around and you can't even find like. It's rare to find like a shop open type vibe. So it's very interesting."

Earlier today on the WTXL Tallahassee Facebook page, we asked if all Florida beaches should be closed.

More than 500 said yes, 61 said no.

On Thursday, Miami mayor, Francis X. Suarez, sent a message urging all Miami residents to self-isolate in their places of residence to the maximum extent possible to slow the spread of COVID-19 to the maximum extent possible.