Pandemic? What pandemic? That sure seems to be the mentality for millions of people darting off to get some r&r for Spring Break. TSA Spokesperson Lisa Farbstein says it  screened almost 1.35 million people on Sunday. It was the 4th consecutive day where more than 1 million people were screened. The last time that happened was in December. While this may seem good for business, it sure isn’t good for those who are still at risk and not vaccinated. Nowhere is this more on display than in Florida. Since Ron DeSantis has basically made it clear the Sunshine State is fully open, people are flocking there. In the last few days, more than 100 people were arrested in Miami Beach (watch more above from the ABC affiliate in Miami). 

Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber, who has been advocating masks and social distancing, said he is worried these Spring Break gatherings are super spreader events, especially since Spring Break crowds are made up of mostly young, unvaccinated people:

“A lot of things are happening simultaneously. You have the variant down here, and we still are having sometimes dozens of deaths a day in our county. And at the same time, we’ve got incredibly cheap round-trip tickets for 40 bucks from anywhere in the Northeast down here, discounted rooms and people who have been really pent up and wanting to get out with no other place to go than here… I would love to have the governor’s voice urging people to be responsible, but we really don’t have that right now. Since we opened everything up and didn’t allow us to impose a mask mandate, there has been a massive amount of suffering.” 

Hotels up and down the Florida coastlines are booked solid and Disney World (still at reduced capacity) is sold out during the busy Spring Break weeks.

Texas is another state that has given the message that Spring Break crowds are welcome. Earlier this month, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said, “It is now time to open Texas 100%.” Dr. David Callender, CEO of Memorial Hermann hospital in the Houston area told the Houston Chronicle, “It’s a powder keg waiting to happen. One of the most difficult in terms of controlling transmission is the high rate of asymptomatic spread among young people. Many are asymptomatic. They don’t know that the individuals around them have the disease. There will be a lot of people in close contact who are raising voices. We want people to understand that these are high-risk situations. Continue to wear a mask.” 

Despite’s Abbott’s recent order lifting precautions, local leaders are still trying their best to keep the pandemic in check during this busy time. Austin Mayor Steve Adler says his city still has a mask mandate for the next two weeks as he fights to keep residents safe.