Spring breakers are already descending on South Padre Island in Texas — and locals worry that the college crowd’s celebration could turn into a COVID-19 superspreader, according to reports.
“I hope this doesn’t come back to create an influx of cases and a superspreader virus incident,” Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino told KXAN.
Tourist hotspots are eager for the spending free-for-all — even as medical experts warn that people should still wear masks and practice social distancing amid the pandemic, which has claimed almost 537,000 lives in the US as of Wednesday morning.
“The state has opened up for business, so that means we’re open for business,” Clayton Brashear, owner of Clayton’s Beach Bar & Grill, told KXAN.
“We’re trying to give the kids something so they enjoy their spring break and come back to the island.”
Students told the outlet that after a year of academic life in a pandemic, they’re ready to be college kids again.
“Yeah, I just feel like it’s time to move on with our lives and stuff and get back out there,” Drew Burke of San Antonio, who was at Clayton’s Beach Bar & Grill without a mask, told the station.
