California tries to cope as maskless crowds flood vacation hotspots

California scrambles as maskless crowds flood vacation hotspots Tens of thousands flood Santa Monica Pier as authorities send mixed messages about coronavirus safety the Guardian

Authorities across southern California are scrambling to contain large holiday crowds on beaches, boardwalks, and piers this weekend, anxious about a possible new surge in Covid-19 cases.

But they face a restive public eager to party in the sun after more than a year of lockdowns, and appear to have few tools at their disposal to enforce mask-wearing and social distancing.

Images of hundreds of largely maskless people crammed on to the Santa Monica pier or huddled around street performers on the Venice boardwalk over the past few days have raised concerns that spring break in the Golden state could spiral out of control, much as it has in Miami Beach, Florida, and trigger a superspreader event.

While the region’s vaccine rollout has significantly ramped up in recent weeks – roughly 50% of adults in Los Angeles county have received at least one shot – local public health officials are warning that it is too soon for the public to let its guard down.

LA’s public health director, Barbara Ferrer, warned people this week not to get “sloppy” by traveling and gathering with others.

That messaging, however, has been muddled by a rapid reduction in pandemic restrictions and by political leaders eager to deliver good news and restart the economy. Some theme parks reopened their doors this week, and outdoor bars and bowling alleys will be allowed to operate in Los Angeles again on Monday.

“Every metric we are following locally is headed in the right direction,” the LA mayor, Eric Garcetti, told reporters in an upbeat news briefing this week, in which he made only brief mention of the need to make spring break “a lower-key event this year”.

Garcetti’s tone contrasted starkly with that of Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), who said she had a sense of “impending doom” amid the uptick in infections in parts of the country. ...

Santa Monica city leaders are now planning to restrict numbers on the pier this weekend by closing off access to new arrivals at 7pm, three hours before closing. They are also planning to deploy half a dozen “health ambassadors” who will remind pier visitors to cover their faces and offer masks free of charge. ...