COVID-19 and the beach

In Merritt Island, going to the beach is less like a vacation and more like a routine. With free access to the beach only a few miles away, many island residents make the beach a part of their daily lives. But ever since COVID-19 struck, Florida beaches have been greatly impacted. While the beach represented a major tourist attraction and a daily activity for many families, the virus forced public beaches and beach rentals to close. And now that the beach is open for business once again, how much has changed?

According to a research report, tourism rates in Florida decreased by 10.7% in the first quarter of 2020. The report had estimated that 31.95 million people visited Florida during the first three months of the year, compared to 35.79 million in 2019 during these same three months. In addition to decreased tourism visits to Florida beaches, residents were unable to enjoy the sun and sand either; many beaches and all beach rentals in Florida were forced to close in order to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Many people have mixed opinions about the beaches opening back up. It's a highly controversial subject among Florida residents, who disagree about whether it is safe to open up beaches.

“It was a smart decision for the beaches to initially be closed and it helped with social distancing because that stops people from having big gatherings on the beach,” said Delainey Barnett, 9. “I think reopening is okay as long as people still somewhat try to social distance themselves.”

On the contrary, some people felt beaches should have remained open, despite the pandemic going on.

“I felt as though it was unnecessary to close the beaches. Usually when people go to the beach, they’re pretty spaced out enough,” said Sophia Citino, 9. “When they reopened, I felt as if there were slightly more people there because no one had anything else to do, all the theme parks and restaurants were closed, plus it was summer.

As people have many mixed opinions of the safety of the beaches reopening, many beaches have set rules for people to follow while they visit during the pandemic. At the Cocoa Beach Pier, they are requiring every guest to come with a face mask on to help keep their guests and workers as safe as possible during the pandemic. However, some residents still think that the beaches aren't doing enough.

“They should have a limit on how many people can go in because beaches get crowded, especially on weekends,” said Maesen Weber, 10. "Everyone is still there and nobody wears a mask to the beach."

The Cocoa Beach Pier isn’t the only one setting rules for visitors. Jacksonville Beach has also set rules of their own on their website. According to their website, there will be no sunbathing or any type of group activity. Items that are also not permitted are towels, blankets, chairs, coolers, and grills. Even though these rules were set, many beach-goers didn't obey them, and were seen swimming, sunbathing, biking, surfing, etc.

As we continue to live through this pandemic, the beaches have always been a huge part of Florida’s tourism. These staples of the Florida economy have been affected tremendously by COVID-19, and many will continue to have mixed opinions about the reopening of the Florida beaches.

It wasn't all bad, though. While the beaches were closed, there were many positive effects for the ocean life that lived near the beaches and in the water, especially sea turtles. Since there were fewer people out on the beaches, there was less trash, garbage and plastic littering the beaches.

While tourists sit at home and Florida residents miss the sea, it's nice to know that in one aspect at least, these beach shutdowns haven't been all bad; for wildlife, the effects of COVID-19 on Florida beaches have been a blessing.