L.A. County Beaches to Reopen May 13 With Restrictions

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Aaron Bandler

May 12, 2020

VENICE, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 26: People gather on a nearly empty Venice Beach, which remains closed along with all other Los Angeles County beaches under stay-at-home orders, with Santa Monica in the background amid the coronavirus pandemic on April 26, 2020 in Venice, California. Neighboring Orange County’s beaches remain open with an estimated 40,000 people visiting Newport Beach on April 24 as the spread of COVID-19 continues. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

On May 11, Los Angeles County officials announced county beaches will be reopened on May 13 with restrictions in place to ensure social distancing measures are observed.

KTLA reported individuals are allowed to walk, run, swim and surf at the beaches but are not allowed to bike, play volleyball or engage in leisurely activities such as sunbathing and picnicking. Those who are not in the water will be required to wear masks and stay at least six feet apart from one another.

If beachgoers follow social distancing measures, then people could start bringing chairs and umbrellas to the beach in six weeks.

“We only can do this with everyone’s cooperation,” County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said during a May 11 press briefing. “It will be impossible to do this without that in a county this large.”

The county had started reopening on May 8, allowing retail stores to reopen under the condition of allowing curbside pickup. Hiking trails also reopened under the condition people wear masks and stay at least six feet apart. County Parks and Recreation Acting Director Norma Garcia told LAist that overcrowding didn’t occur on the trails over the weekend.

“What we are seeing is that the public is absolutely respecting the six-foot physical distancing. We do have the public wearing face coverings,” she said. “And as far as L.A. County, we’ve also seen very positive feedback regarding our park monitor program, both at trails and golf courses.”

There were 591 new COVID-19 cases and 39 new deaths in the county from the virus on May 11, bringing the county totals to 32,258 and 1,569, respectively.

#COVID19 update (5/11/20):@lapublichealth reports 591 new cases and 39 deaths.
Total confirmed cases in LA County= 32,258
Total deaths= 1,569
(Thread 1/3) pic.twitter.com/4MNe7mUSBm

— Los Angeles County (@CountyofLA) May 11, 2020