Penelope Wilson
Penelope Wilson
May 6, 2020 ·  5 min read

Man Vows He Will Dress as the Grim Reaper to Visit Florida’s Beaches That Reopen Too Early

While the COVID-19 pandemic has brought about untold hardships and suffering across the world, it would seem that so many people do not understand the severity of the crisis.

A Florida-based lawyer, Daniel Uhlfelder, made a solemn vow on Twitter to pay a sinister visit to every beach across the state that reopens prematurely while most of the nation is still on lockdown. [1] He plans to use this as a means to scare people into staying at home and away from the beaches where they could be exposed to the virus. 

The coronavirus has been found to spread quickly in crowded areas and locking down places that attract crowds has been proven to be an effective means of control. This has led to over a third of the world being placed on some sort of lockdown (total or partial) and many businesses and public being places shut down as well. 

Are the states still united?

Understandably, many people are out of work, frustrated, and bored at home, but this is not an excuse to put their lives (and those of others) at great risk. The USA currently has the highest number of coronavirus cases in the world (952,999), where over 30% of recorded cases in the world are unevenly distributed across the country. [2] While over 165,000 recoveries have been recorded, the situation is not getting any better (or safer) in the country. 

Anti-lockdown protests and heavy criticism are making the situation extremely difficult to control especially for front-liners risking their lives to cater to the sick. While it’s true that millions of people are facing untold hardships as they’re out of work, only healthy people can actually work. 

Uhlfelder, a Stanford-educated trial lawyer based in Santa Rosa beach took to Twitter to make his “grim” declaration when Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, announced his intention to ease the lockdown protocols. On April 17, following the governor’s orders, police removed the barriers blocking the beaches, officially reopening them to the public in Florida. [3] The concerned lawyer was worried that more people are going to expose themselves and their families to the lethal virus, and he vowed to make sure they are too terrified to come into the beaches.

Uhlfelder had already pulled his first awareness gimmick off five weeks ago when he stormed a crowded beach in Florida wearing a full hazmat suit to talk to people. Later, still in his all-white suit, he went to the government house to implore the governor to close the beaches immediately, but DeSantis was reportedly “unavailable.” Florida’s beaches are a strong point of economic benefit in these difficult times, but there’s so much more to be considered before opening up locations that would potentially draw large crowds of people eager for spring break.

“I understand the pressure because it’s such a big part of our revenue,” he said to Business Insider. “But, we need to get back to normal quickly, and I think reopening prematurely is going to prolong this. That’s why I’m doing things that are kind of unorthodox. You now have a trial lawyer wearing a Grim Reaper costume on the beach. That’s not normal, but these are not normal times.”

He’s now stepping up the game from a peaceful Hazmat suit guy to the scarily sinister grim reaper. 

In addition to keeping people off the beaches, Uhlfelder, who is reputed to have a strong dislike for Republicans, is using the campaign as a means to raise funds for Democratic electorates in the upcoming elections. 

So far, over $3,000 has been raised of a $20,000 goal.

Recall that last month, a group of five University of Tampa students disobeyed social distancing rules and went on a spring break vacation, only to return home and test positive to the coronavirus. [4]

One of the students said: “If I get corona, I get corona. At the end of the day, I’m not going to let it stop me from partying.” 

This just goes to show that so many people still do not understand how serious the situation is. 

Reactions to the re-opening plans

While dozens of Floridians were excited at the prospect of being able to return to their relaxing beaches last week, many more are worried at how this could cause an uncontrollable spike in the number of cases. For a state that has recorded at least 32,838 confirmed coronavirus cases and at least 1,170 total deaths, re-opening public beaches is gearing up to be a big mistake. [5]

References

  1. “The Grim Reaper is headed to Florida beaches to protest their opening. Meet the attorney under the cloak.” Business Insider. Haven Orecchio-Egresitz. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  2. “Coronavirus – US.” Worldometer. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  3. “Hundreds flock to Florida’s reopened beaches as state death toll hits 726.” The Guardian. Victoria Bekiempis. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  4. “Florida students who went on Spring Break instead of self-isolating test positive for coronavirus.” Indy 100. James Besanvalle. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  5. “Florida Coronavirus Map and Case Count.” The New York Times. Updated April 29, 2020.
  6. “The epidemiological characteristics of an outbreak of 2019 novel coronavirus diseases (COVID-19) in China.” WHO. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  7. “What and who is behind the US anti-lockdown protests?” Aljazeera. Retrieved April 24, 2020.