‘I’M LIVING IT UP’ Coronavirus doesn’t deter Florida beachgoers
Even as coronavirus affects large portions of Central Florida’s wide-reaching tourism economy, it’s not evident when visiting the region’s stillpacked beaches.
On the Beachline Expressway, a caravan of cars from Ontario, Illinois, New York, Ohio, Georgia and Louisiana headed to Florida’s east coast Monday, undeterred by the spread of COVID-19.
Dozens of shoppers casually browsed Ron Jon Surf Shop, just like any other Cocoa Beach spring break day. Families with kids in tow hauled wagons stuffed with floaties, chairs and snacks over the sand. Despite a passing rain shower, the patio at Coconuts on the Beach experienced its usual lunchtime rush.
“Now that Disney’s shut down, people want somewhere to go,” said Christina Artz, owner of the popular restaurant. “Where else are you going to go besides the beach, where you kind of feel safer?”
Artz said that between spring break visitors and the now-canceled Daytona Bike Week, her business received a big weekend rush typical of this time of year. However, she worries she’ll be forced to shut the restaurant’s doors again after recently closing for five or six weeks of renovations.
“Hopefully this weekend, we’ll have our inside open. We’re just going day by day — seeing what the governor does, just praying he doesn’t close us down,” Artz said. “People are in town and they’re not just going to sit in their hotel rooms. … Our deck is full, and we’re open for business.”
On Florida’s other coast, Pass-a-Grille beach, at the southern end of St. Pete Beach, was crowded with visitors Sunday afternoon. The weather — sunny and in the high 80s — made a perfect beach day, and the scene looked like that of a typical spring break, with families set up under umbrellas and many people swimming, searching for seashells and lounging on beach chairs. A beach-side snack bar had a line of customers waiting for drinks and food on its patio. Monday was much the same, with most of the parking spots on Gulf Way, the street along the water, filled by noon.
But there were a few signs of coronavirus worries: a hotel with a pump jar of hand sanitizer on its front desk, a store with a tub of disinfectant wipes on a side table by its door and a