Beaches eyed as US takes steps toward reopening
WILTON, Connecticut: Many Americans flocked to beaches on Saturday as one Florida county expanded access and California experienced a heat wave, even as new coronavirus cases hit a record high in the United States the day before and deaths topped 200,000 worldwide. Hair salons and other shops in Georgia, Oklahoma and some other states opened for a second day as pockets of the country sought to restart their economies following a month of government-ordered lockdowns.
The tentative steps toward restarting life run against the warnings of many public health experts, who say the increased human interaction could spark a new wave of cases of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the highly contagious virus. The United States on Friday recorded 36,491 new cases of COVID-19, a record daily high, according to a Reuters tally. Global deaths linked to the virus passed 200,000 on Saturday, more than one quarter of them in the United States, the tally shows.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo repeated his warning that reopening businesses too soon was risky, while Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo pushed back against a protest at the State House in Providence as short-sighted, arguing it could force her to delay her restart date of May 8 at the earliest. “At this point to violate social distancing rules, it’s just selfish,” Raimondo told a briefing, referring to the protest. “If everybody today went out and violated the rules I will definitely have to push back the date at which we can reopen the economy.”
Volusia County, home to the famed Daytona Beach, opened lots at its coastal parks on Saturday to handicapped visitors, one step in a phased reopening that has so far limited its beaches to those wanting to walk, surf, bike or swim. In a briefing on Friday, County Manager George Recktenwald had portrayed the relaxed parking provision as an incremental step and warned against gathering in groups. But one resident said many beachgoers were not heeding the advice.
“I know they have rules and restrictions, but people aren’t listening,” said John Overchuck, 45, an attorney who lives in a beachfront home with his wife and toddler daughter just south of Daytona Beach in New Smyrna Beach. “I walked on the beach 10 minutes ago and it’s packed. That wasn’t supposed to happen.” Overchuck said he fears the return of thousands of spring breakers and tourists who in normal times are drawn to Smyrna and other county beaches. Some were already parking cars and pitching tents right on the beach, he said. A heat wave brought thousands of Californians to the open beaches in Newport Beach and Huntington Beach on Friday despite stay-at-home orders for people across the state, and similarly large crowds hit the beaches on Saturday. — Reuters