If it can be done safely--then yes, it should be.
But if we are told that it absolutely cannot be done safely---then we should not open the beach.
But either way--we should have the discussion on April 2nd.
The CDC issued guidelines do not mandate beach closure. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has not MANDATED all beaches to close.
But the Escambia Board of County Commissioners voted last week to close all beaches for at least two weeks at the urging of our health care executives and the health department director.
Meanwhile, the physical area of Pensacola Beach is open; many of the beach businesses are still open. Restaurants are selling meals to go, and hotels are accepting reservations and taking-in guests at Pensacola Beach right now as I type this.
Rooms are exceptionally cheap right now, too. And although guests at Pensacola Beach hotels cannot currently, legally go on the sandy portions of the beach (because these are all closed until at least April 2nd by order of the County Commissioners)--they are still allowed to use the pools and spas and hot tubs and sunbathe around the pool.
So folks are still coming to the beach anyway--even if the sandy portions of the beach are technically and legally closed. I have also heard, anecdotally, that some visitors and others are still going onto the sandy portions of the Gulf of Mexico side of the beach on Pensacola Beach despite our rule prohibiting this. (Obviously, there are a lot of miles of beach and a limited number of public safety personnel and sheriff's deputies to patrol the whole area--so who knows to what extent this order is already being violated).
Meanwhile, back at the Pensacola Beach hotels--if groups are gathered at the pools instead of on the beaches (where with more room on the sandy beaches they could better disperse as a crowd maintaining even more distance between one another)--the social distancing is much more difficult to control. And who is patrolling the hotel's pools to insure the distancing protocols are being followed?
I get it that folks are nervous about out of towners coming in from New Orleans or New York and seeking refuge at Pensacola Beach. But wait--they are doing this right now as we speak---it's just that nobody is talking about that. And unless we are shutting and sealing our Florida borders, who are we to say they can't come here?
So if we can enforce social distancing on the beach and safely allow locals back on the beach to fish or enjoy the outdoors with their families--why shouldn't we do this? I would like to hear rational reasons why not.
1 comment:
"So if we can enforce social distancing on the beach and safely allow locals back on the beach to fish or enjoy the outdoors with their families--why shouldn't we do this? I would like to hear rational reasons why not." So your earlier comment was "I have also heard, anecdotally, that some visitors and others are still going onto the sandy portions of the Gulf of Mexico side of the beach on Pensacola Beach despite our rule prohibiting this. (Obviously, there are a lot of miles of beach and a limited number of public safety personnel and sheriff's deputies to patrol the whole area--so who knows to what extent this order is already being violated). ". So if you cannot enforce "no one" on the beach, how will you enforce "social distancing" on the beach......But this is not really the problem, and only the looking at the trees see this as the issue. I do not live near Pensacola Beach, but one of the other beaches in the county. Prior to the beaches getting closed, did you by chance take a tour of any of the grocery stores, gas stations or shops in those areas. So while community spread is likely not to happen at the beach in the open spaces, think about the tons of non-locals in these spaces, not to mention the empty shelves that have been picked over by the thousands of extra folks coming through every day. Would you like to open the beach and turn away the tourist from the Publix? Otherwise you all are not protecting the citizens of the county, which is all of your jobs. County buildings are all closed...Do you think the county offices have more people come through in close proximity than the grocery stores around the beach areas? Do folks walk around touching things in the county building? Do they all stand in lines behind registers stacking items on the same surface over and over? Like I said. If you are only thinking about what is going on down at the beach, then you are having trouble seeing the forest for the trees. Look at the whole view. Leaders have to make tough decisions....And need to look at the forest, not the trees.
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