Written by Nicholas Vetrisek
On Friday, San Diego County Public Health Officials announced that they will lift restrictions on the beach beginning Monday morning. The ocean will now be open for activities like swimming, kayaking, and surfing; and the beach for walking and jogging. Despite this, the parking lots, boardwalks, and piers will remain closed.
Furthermore, the County is deferring to cities whether to go through with opening their beaches. Beach cities like Del Mar have said their beaches will remain closed off, while most will be open today.
These rules start Monday in the City of SD.
REMEMBER: California's Stay Home order is STILL in effect. Beaches, bays and oceans can stay open for limited use ONLY if these rules by public health officials and regional lifeguards are followed.
Please stay classy, San Diego. pic.twitter.com/NWi6kMgpau
— Kevin Faulconer (@Kevin_Faulconer) April 27, 2020
Starting May 1, the County will also require that everyone going out in public wears a face mask. Also announced was the fact that 183 new coronavirus cases and two deaths have been added to the total, making the numbers of people affected 2,826 cases and 102 dead respectively, as of Friday.
Opening the beaches has been in the works for many weeks. Though San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher is attempting to now take credit for the opening by announcing it, he pushed back on the idea arguably more so than anybody. Supervisors Jim Desmond and Kristin Gaspar, on the other hand, have been fighting for this change for weeks now.
In addition, State Senator Shannon Grove recently wrote to Governor Gavin Newsom, asking for localities to have the authority to reopen safely on their own accord rather than being forced to stay closed because of state orders. Desmond, Gaspar, Grove, and their allies are the ones responsible for the reopening of San Diego, not opportunists like Nathan Fletcher.
