City officials seemed to think that promoting a huge Halloween gathering in downtown Orlando would be a good idea. The idea was to cordon off downtown streets and to promote open carry of drinks so that people did not gather inside crowded bars. It would be best to get drunk in the gutter. The area was bound by Garland Avenue on the west side, Church Street on the south, Magnolia Avenue on the east and Washington Street to the north. Orange Avenue became a congested and shoulder to shoulder mass of people, many whom did not wear masks.
An outdoor stage was even set up in a parking lot by a promoter called Vanguard and they seemed to think they could could hold this concert safely. Each ticket holder was given a mask and face-shield for the price of the ticket. The crowd waiting to enter the The Boo! Orlando 2020 stage could be at the epicenter of this super spreader event. Also, what zombies gathered at the edge of the fenced off parking lot, crowding close to listen? Boo indeed.
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings sent out compliance teams to the bars downtown hoping to promote social distancing and safety. Free PPE was handed out to bar owners before the festivities but it was a drop in the bucket when thousands showed up with no masks that night.
Mayor Buddy Dyer said, “The pilot program to help alleviate the expected big crowds in downtown Orlando on Halloween night didn’t work. Instead, thousands of costumed crowds packed the downtown area in the midst of an ongoing pandemic. A lot of people were out there without masks, without social distancing so I am concerned whether there was some spread of COVID-19 Saturday night downtown.”
The CDC advised against drinking alcohol or taking drugs Halloween night since they can cloud judgement and increase risky behaviors. They also advised against attending crowded costume parties. Bar owners and promoters must have done very well Halloween night, but they have blood on their hands as do any city officials who thought this was a good idea.
The downtown Halloween event was an undeniable disaster and most certainly was a super spreader event. Thousands of plastic cups littered the streets the day after and the puke had to be sprayed off the pavement. Downtown was a dump, and now the virus can spread throughout the community. Orange County reported 4,651 new cases of COVID-19 on November 2, 2020 for a total of 46,985 cases and 560 deaths. Expect those numbers to spike in the next 14 days. The horror… the horror.