JUPITER, Florida — A young woman heading into the Square Grouper in Jupiter said she didn’t want to discuss the coronavirus on this pristine June…
JUPITER, Florida — A young woman heading into the Square Grouper in Jupiter said she didn’t want to discuss the coronavirus on this pristine June night.
She then had a second thought and turned, saying, “I think it’s a hoax, and I think it’s just the flu on steroids.”
She then giggled and walked into the restaurant without a mask covering her mouth and nose.
Welcome to the new face of COVID-19 in Florida as positive cases for the 20-somethings have absolutely exploded since the state reopened from its lockdown in the last month.
The weekly median age for those testing positive in the state has dropped from 65 in March to the mid-30s — an extraordinary development.
In two months’ time, the infections for Floridians between the ages of 15 and 24 went from about 2,000 to more than 14,000 — a 600% increase.
Those aged 25 to 34 didn’t fare much better. Their numbers went from just over 4,000 to more than 20,000 — an increase of 400%.
And although their percentage is small, 76 young Floridians have died from COVID-19.
But the thoughts on the virus of the young woman along the marina in Jupiter was not an outlier among her peers out and about this week.
Of course, there are members of generation Tik-Tok taking this pandemic seriously. They are at home and not congregating in restaurants that turn into nightclubs when everyone is asleep.
This is the same demographic who mobilized heroically for gun control in the wake of the mass shooting two years ago at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
They participated heavily in the recent Black Lives Matter and they just mobilized to sabotage President Donald Trump’s Oklahoma rally by requesting tickets and never showing up, contributing to a half-empty arena.
Clearly not every member of Gen Z believes in civic duty when it comes to COVID-19.
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Repeatedly, young adults who spoke to The Palm Beach Post said the virus was a hoax, that facial coverings couldn’t stop the spread of the contagion and that it was no worse than the flu.
It is as if a large swath of this generation, born in 1995 or later, collectively bought into a myth about COVID-19 that eschews all warnings by public health officials.
At the Square Grouper on this Tuesday night, one would be hard-pressed to find a face mask as people dined in the glow of the Jupiter Lighthouse at the edge of the marina. One senior had one. It dangled from his ear.
The scene was repeated on Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach. At Boca Raton’s Town Center. And at Drive Shack in West Palm Beach.
Efforts to reach representatives for comment with The Square Grouper and Drive Shack through voice messages and e-mail were unsuccessful.
But it’s not just restaurants and entertainment venues where young adults can be found not using personal protective equipment or practicing social distancing. They are also all over Boca Raton knocking on doors, without masks, doing the hard sell on solar panels.
This is the same group that made headlines for partying hard during spring break as the country ground to a standstill at the start of the pandemic.
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“It’s just a normal flu season — just a little worse,” said Justin Chapman, 21, outside the Drive Shack, a golf range/restaurant in West Palm Beach. “I’ve known people who’ve had it and it’s no worse than the flu.”
The Stuart resident said that donning facial coverings and practicing social distancing won’t stop the spread of the infection.
