• A new report from the CDC found that younger adults were statistically just as likely to get the coronavirus and be hospitalized as people who were 65 and older.
• The report contradicts the general narrative that younger people are in less danger.
• Meanwhile, hoards of spring breakers are still partying in crowded areas and beaches in Florida, despite warnings from the CDC and efforts by Gov. Ron DeSantis to shut down bars and clubs and limit group sizes on beaches.
• In a now-viral CBS clip, several young party-goers said that they care more about their spring break than the global outbreak.

Partying On Brings Public Health Risks

The world might feel like it’s coming to an end, but while you’re at home eating beans or hoarding thousands of dollars of hand sanitizer, there are still plenty of people out partying for spring break.

It should come as no surprise that a group of people who couldn’t care less about totally endangering everyone’s health and safety also don’t care about their own wellbeing. But now, they’re speaking out.

“If I get corona, I get corona. At the end of the day, I’m not going to let it stop me from partying,” Ohio native and self-described aspiring SoundCloud rapper Brady Sluder told CBS in a now-viral video.

“You know, I’ve been waiting, we’ve been waiting for Miami spring break for a while, about two months we’ve had this trip planned, two, three months, and we’re just out here having a good time,” he continued. “Whatever happens, happens.”

To his credit, two, three months is a very long time.

In an effort to stop party-goers from doing even more damage, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis addressed the situation Tuesday by closing all bars and clubs for 30 days and limiting beach parties to 10 people— if you can even call 10 people a party!

But that seems to have just angered the springer breakers, who now feel as though their undeniable human rights are being violated.

“It’s really messing up with my spring break,” said 21-year-old Brianna Smith. “What is there to do here other than go to the bars or the beach? And they’re closing all of it. I think they’re blowing it way out of proportion. I think it’s doing way too much.”

“What they’re doing is bad, we need a refund,” said Atlantis Walker, another 21-year-old visiting Florida. “This virus ain’t that serious.”

Florida already has reported 328 confirmed coronavirus cases and eight deaths, but like everywhere else in the U.S., they have a massive test shortage, so that number is likely higher.

Florida Politicians Respond

Speaking on Fox and Friends Thursday, DeSantis doubled down on his message to party hungry visitors.

“The message I think for spring breakers is that the party’s over in Florida, you’re not going to be able to congregate on any beach in the state,” he said. “Many of the hot spots that people like to go to, whether it’s Miami Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Clearwater Beach, are closed entirely for the time being.” 

DeSantis also said that the videos of crowded beaches and other public areas were from people who went down to Florida before things got bad. Now, he says people are canceling trips.

The videos circulated last weekend and early this week, so you can decide for yourself if that was before things got bad.

Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) also hit similar points during an interview with CNN Thursday morning. 

“Get off the beach,” he said. “I mean, unless you can figure out how to be completely isolated from anyone else.”

“Take some personal responsibility here, don’t infect other people,” he added. “Don’t take a chance that you’re going to be the one to cause your grandparent or your parents or another friend from school to get sick.” 

Both politicians refused to say whether they would close the beaches altogether.

New CDC Report

Scott’s argument about spreading the virus is important, and while his message is true for people everywhere, it’s especially important for those in Florida.

The sunshine state is the infamous host of two major populations that are incredibly dangerous when put together: drunk kids on vacation who think they are indestructible and old people.

On one hand, you have a state where 27% of the population is over 60 and thus at risk for coronavirus, and on the other hand, you have a massive tourism industry that brought in more than 126 million people in 2018 alone.

While some of those people are there to marvel at Florida’s unparalleled biodiversity or buy some bath salts, a lot of people are there to party. And right now, those people are putting everyone at risk.

Many of those young spring breakers seem to believe that they will not get the coronavirus, or that if they do, they’ll be okay. But a new report released by the CDC Wednesday indicates that those assumptions are not true at all.

According to the report, out of the 508 patients known to have been hospitalized in the U.S., 20% of them were between 20 and 44—roughly millennials— and more than half of them were under 65.

Though notably, less than 1% of those under 19 were hospitalized, and the vast majority of deaths— about 80%— were from people 65 and older.

But one of the most shocking pieces of information from this report was the number of younger adults who tested positive for the coronavirus. Of the 2,449 patients with known ages, 29% were between 20 and 44, and more than half were under 65.

Meaning that statistically, people under 65 were just as likely to get the virus and have conditions serious enough to be hospitalized as those who were over 65.

It also seems to contradict the general narrative that people under 65 are significantly less at risk. They are less at risk for dying, but not necessarily for getting the virus or being hospitalized.

“Younger people may feel more confident about their ability to withstand a virus like this,” said Dr. Christopher Carlsten, the head of respiratory medicine at the University of British Columbia explains. “If that many younger people are being hospitalized, that means that there are a lot of young people in the community that are walking around with the infection.”

Even beyond that, there have also been recent reports that some people who get over the virus still have lasting issues.

“Lots of young people are getting hospitalized, a lot more than we’re messaging, and, yes, maybe you don’t die, but living with a damaged lung or damaged organ is not a good outcome,” said Prabhjot Singh, a physician and health systems expert at Mount Sinai Health System and the Icahn School of Medicine.

In other words, despite what Brady Sluder might tell you, whether young or old, you should worry about getting the coronavirus.

See what others are saying: (The Washington Post) (The Hill) (Fox News)