Miami Herald Columnist: Packed Beaches Will ‘Work Nicely to Thin The Ranks’ Of Trump And DeSantis Supporters

Newly reopened Jacksonville Beach only allows “essential activities” which include “recreational activities consistent with social distancing guidelines such as walking, biking, hiking, fishing, running, swimming, taking care of pets and surfing.”

Beach-goers cannot sunbathe or bring towels, blankets or beach chairs. The beaches reportedly don’t allow “lingering on the beach without moving” or gatherings of more than 10 people.

Santiago’s controversial tweet embedded a Miami Herald article sensationally titled, “Packed Florida beach offers glimpse of what may come when outdoor spaces are reopened.”

The Herald story included two images of scores of people walking on the beach, but it was not clear from the pictures whether those photographed were violating the social distancing rules. The closeup images seem to show people keeping distance but those who can be seen were not wearing masks or other face coverings.  The story itself does not report that anyone violated social distancing rules.

At Friday’s White House Coronavirus Task Force’s briefing, Dr. Deborah Birx, Trump’s coronavirus response coordinator, was asked about the beach reopenings in Florida. Reporters did not similarly bring up the marina and boatyard reopenings in harder-hit New Jersey, New York and Connecticut or Manhattan’s continued opening of Central Park to the general public.

“If the county health directors believe that that’s appropriate for their county, then I’m not going to second judge an individual’s approach to this,” Birx said of the Florida beach news.

Update 9:23 PM April 19, 2020:

THREAD: I deleted the tweet commenting on people at the beach because it didn’t accurately convey my sentiment and I want to apologize for the phrase I used that offended many people. Regardless of political differences, I would never wish any harm on anyone. 1/2

— Fabiola Santiago (@fabiolasantiago) April 20, 2020