TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – So much for the mayor’s order to demand masks at Super Bowl parties. Throngs of mostly maskless fans took to the streets and packed sports bars as the clock at Raymond James Stadium ticked on a hometown Super Bowl win for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“It’s a bit frustrating because we’ve worked so hard,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said at a Monday morning press conference with the Super Bowl Host Committee. “At this point when dealing with COVID-19, there is a certain amount of frustration when you see that.”
Some 200,000 masks were handed out prior to the competition and “a majority” of people and companies followed the rules, she said.
To comply with coronavirus protocols, the NFL restricted audiences to less than 25,000 in a stadium that normally contains some 66,000 fans and required masks.
But outside the stadium on Sunday night, crowds of fans weren’t wearing masks or practicing social aloofness could be seen as they celebrated the Buccaneers’ 31-9 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. People cheered, crammed into bars, and hugged themselves in various city hot spots – and swarmed the streets – all without masks.
Hoping to curb the so-called superspreader events, Castor had signed an executive order requiring people to wear face covers during Super Bowl festivities, even when outside. She begged people to celebrate safely.
Across the street from Tampa Bay in St. Petersburg, Mayor Rick Kriseman was already unhappy about a maskless party hosted Friday night by Rapper Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson in a hangar at Albert Whitted Airport. Photos of the party on social media showed a densely packed event with few people wearing masks to protect against the spread of the coronavirus.
“This is not how we should celebrate the Super Bowl,” said the mayor tweeted on Saturday. ‘It’s not safe or smart. It is stupid. We’re going to take a really close look at this, and it could end up costing someone a lot more than 50 cents. ”
The country’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, too, warned against turning the Super Bowl into a super spreader, saying before the game that people should ‘just lay low and cool it down’.
According to state health records, Florida has recorded 1.7 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus and more than 28,000 deaths. State officials said Sunday that 667,830 people in Florida had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Castor said the city and Buccaneers plan to hold an official celebration later this week.
“This win belonged to the Buccaneer team, but this win was for our entire community,” she said. “They deserve to be able to celebrate with the team. Everyone will be able to participate and participate safely. “
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Frisaro reported from Fort Lauderdale.