Many Tampa residents participated in massive celebrations for their team’s victory in the Super Bowl, crowded together and without a mask, despite health regulations imposed by authorities to curb the spread. of the coronavirus.
“It’s very frustrating because we’ve worked so hard on the issue,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said at a news conference Monday. “At this point in the fight against COVID-19, there is a certain level of frustration when you see that kind of thing.”
Some 200,000 masks were distributed before the game and “a majority” of the attendees and businesses attacked the rules, the mayor said.
Among the measures was a cap of 25,000 people at Raymond James Stadium, which usually has a capacity of 66,000, and the obligation to wear a mask.
But outside the stadium, where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs, crowds of people could be seen together and without masks, screaming, hugging and filling the streets and bars.
Hoping to prevent the Super Bowl from becoming a source of contagion, Castor signed an executive order requiring masks to be worn even outdoors, and urged fans to celebrate the game’s outcome with a sense of responsibility.
In nearby St. Petersburg, Mayor Rick Kriseman complained about a maskless party that rapper Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson threw in a hangar at Albert Whitted Airport on Friday night. Photos posted on social media showed people at the party, agglutinated and without masks.
“This is not the way we should have celebrated the Super Bowl,” the mayor tweeted on Saturday. “This is not hygienic or smart, it is stupid.” We are going to thoroughly investigate what happened and it could cost some people dearly ”.
America’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, advised fans to watch the tournament from home, so as not to infect others.