Thread by @MiamiHerald

Early in the pandemic, South Beach lived up to its wild reputation making national news when videos circulated of thousands of unmasked young people.

After thousands of cases and scores of deaths in the county, have things changed?
trib.al/erD3d01

On Sept. 4 from 7 to 10 p.m., 11 FIU Journalism students counted over 5,000 pedestrians in Wynwood, Bayside Marketplace, Calle Ocho, Ocean Drive and Lincoln Road either correctly wearing a mask, wearing a mask with nose showing or as a chinstrap or wearing no mask at all.(THREAD)

In Wynwood, despite a poor showing of social distancing at a local restaurant, about 43 percent of people wore their masks correctly. However, David Bass, a homeless man. shared the sentiments of those surveyed who wore no mask at all - they’re “pointless”

Does gender play a role in mask regulation? On Lincoln Road, Calle Ocho, Bayside Marketplace and South Beach, the answer is, yes. Data collected in those areas show women were more likely to follow mask guidelines than men.

Lincoln Road mall seemed considerably split on the effectiveness of wearing a mask as 40 percent of people had appropriate facial coverings on, but about the same number ignored the mask rule completely

Overall, less than half of the pedestrian population recorded properly wore a mask-- if it all, despite health experts and South Florida leaders asking the public to wear masks to help protect others from COVID-19.

To help protect from COVID-19, a deadly disease primarily spread through small droplets from the nose or mouth, the @CDCgov
recommends using a mask that completely covers your mouth and nose, fits snugly against the side of your face and is made up of two or more layers.

This project was inspired by a similar project from the Los Angeles Times and reported on by Monica Correa, Angelo Gomez, Selena Stanley, Fabian Osorio, Ana Soler, Alejandra Garcia Elcoro, Jamilka Gibson, Luisa Peixoto, Katherine Miranda, Helen Acevedo and Jordan Coll.