Spring break

Thousands of people have descended on South Florida beaches for the same reasons as any other spring break — the weather, water, and two-for-one drinks specials. But there's one major difference — the ongoing pandemic.

The police chief described a week full of melees that had people fleeing for their lives and became out of control by Friday night, when the city finally moved to shut things down.

Orange County said it will continue to enforce its mask mandate as it has through most of the pandemic. Volusia and Brevard will not have additional regulations.

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber on what spring break looks like one year after the pandemic interrupted last year's celebrations.

Businesses on and near Pinellas beaches are bracing for crowds all while attempting to follow safety regulations to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Panama City Beach is limiting the number of people who may gather together on the sand during spring break. It's the only pandemic-related restriction in place at the start of the busy month for tourism.

So far, officials are not planning to close beaches. But Miami-Dade has a curfew in place. A Broward curfew will depend on whether businesses enforce social distancing.

USF’s spring break, which was originally scheduled for March 15-21, is being moved to April 12-18.

While the state was urging social distancing in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus, spring break crowds descended on parts of South Florida...