SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA – JULY 02: A man wears a face mask while cycling on Santa Monica beach amid the COVID-19 pandemic. on July 02, 2020 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
The LA County beaches will remain open this Labor Day Weekend and as temperatures rise in Southern California crowds are expected to flock to the shores.
Local authorities urged people to respect the physical distancing rules required on beaches and to take precautions to avoid the spread of COVID-19.
“There are no plans to close the beaches for the Labor Day holiday weekend; however, if the beaches get too crowded, the Department of Public Health may tell us to shut them down,” said Nicole Mooradian from the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors.
While beachgoers are free to play in the sand, swim, bike, and walk along the beach, they must continue to follow the rules indicated by the county.
Simple rules to remember:
- Face masks are still required at all times, unless you are eating or drinking, or in the water.
- Gatherings between folks from two or more households are prohibited under the health order.
- Please maintain at least six feet of physical distance when around people not in your household.
- Beach volleyball is still not allowed.
- Pack in, pack out: More trash has been seen on the beach. Part of this is because most beach crews are assigned to clean restrooms 5-6 times per day under COVID-19 guidelines-roughly twice as often as they were cleaned pre-pandemic resulting in fewer employees available to pick up trash. With that in mind, beachgoers are encouraged to pack in, pack out, put a trash bag in their beach bag and use it to take their trash home with them to throw away.
- Bonfires on the beach are illegal. Personal fire pits and grills are not allowed on any beach or in any beach parking lot. There has been an increase in the number of illegal fires on the sand since fire pits like the ones in Dockweiler State Beach were removed. These fires pollute the environment, and when buried, pose a risk of serious burns to unsuspecting beachgoers.
For more information about beach rules and regulations this Labor Day weekend click here.
