HUNDREDS of Floridians ignored the coronavirus stay-at-home orders as they flocked to the Miami shoreline.

On Sunday, a banner plane urged Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber to "open the beaches," which have been closed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.




Locals fell out of kayaks and rode on luxury boats close together as the US death toll topped 40,000 and infections surged to over 760,000.

As temperatures rose above 80 degrees Sunday, people's concerns about the deadly bug seemed to melt in the heat.

Maskless residents rollerbladed, walked and cycled in groups by the edge of Miami Beach, which was shuttered to the public since last month.

Although most of the sand stretch remained empty, dozens of sun worshippers set up shop on rockier patches of the beach, ignoring experts' social distancing advice.

While the in-state death toll surged to 774, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis allowed some beaches and parks to reopen "safely" – but this didn't include Miami Beach.

The Mayor of Miami-Dade County Carlos Gimenez said beaches would be opened after parks, marinas and golf courses.



On Sunday, he tweeted: "I’ve seen a lot of buzz on social media from people who think beaches in Miami-Dade County are opening up. This is not the case.

"Although we’re consulting with medical experts on the future opening of public spaces, there is currently no timeline for opening beaches."

Residents fished, swam, and ran on Duval County beach after Mayor Lenny Curry reopened county beaches Friday afternoon with restricted hours.

He said beachgoers can walk, bike, hike, fish, surf, run, swim and tend to their pets on the sand.

Jacksonville beaches open from 6am to 11am and 5pm to 8pm for exercise – e.g. walking or swimming – only because Curry was "encouraged" by the number of confirmed cases.

"If for some reason it turns to helter skelter, we're going to pull the plug again," Curry warned locals.

Last night, the mayor claimed there are "no political parties in response to COVID19 in my city or our state" as he defended the decision to reopen on Twitter.

CNN reported Jacksonville residents cheered as they rushed the beach around 5 pm Friday when police removed the barriers.

Many people without masks packed the beaches to swim, walk, surf and fish despite the rapid spread of the killer bug, prompting the hashtag #FloridaMorons to trend on Twitter.

The no-sunbathing rule was reportedly enforced by cops while another flyover sign warned people to "do your part. Stay 6 feet apart. Help keep beaches open.”

Infections in Florida surged to 1,421 Friday, the highest one-day number yet after Donald Trump revealed his phased reopening plan for the country this week and called for certain states to be "liberated."











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