Fun-hungry young adults in Florida fuel rise in virus infections

MIAMI: They are itching for a good time after months of lockdown, coronavirus be damned: young adults in Florida are fueling a dangerous rise in COVID-19 infections.

Seemingly feeling immortal, these fun-crazed people began gathering in bars, nightclubs and elsewhere after the Sunshine State reopened its economy this month — though the state has now had to put a hold on alcohol-fueled nightlife.

Check out Instagram, and there´s always a party on a beach somewhere, or at a swimming pool, or on a rented yacht in south Florida, where nightlife spots other than restaurants are still closed. Plus, buses are hired for bachelorette parties teeming with folks drinking beer, dancing to reggaeton music — and spreading the coronavirus. Infection rates were stable as Florida joined the rest of America in lockdown from March through May. But they shot up in June after the state moved to reopen and tourists from all over the country started pouring in.

On Ocean Drive, which is a kind of party central in Miami Beach, visitors from Missouri, Texas, Georgia and elsewhere stroll by the sea. Round about midnight Mike Olivera, a 25-year-old visiting from New York, sits on a wall on the oceanfront promenade and sneaks sips of vodka with a buddy, watching a steady flow of fresh-faced young humanity saunter by.

And listen to how concerned Olivera is about mask-wearing and social distancing: “I wanted to get laid,” he said, explaining why he came to Miami.

Olivera chuckles, then clarifies. He is from New York, the former COVID epicenter of America, with its tight social distancing restrictions. “So I wanted a break and actually to be able to do things, meet nice people and hang out,” said Olivera.

With that kind of attitude common, Florida has set records for new cases almost every day for the past two weeks — more than 5,000 on Wednesday and Thursday as infection rates rise ominously here and elsewhere in the South and West of the country. On Monday, Florida surpassed 100,000 known coronavirus cases, and the average age of the people infected is now 33 — down from 65 two months ago.