LOS ANGELES, CA — Los Angeles County’s beach will close for the holiday weekend, one of the busiest beach weekends of the year, officials announced Friday. The news came on the single worst day of the coronavirus pandemic with Los Angeles County confirming a record 2,903 new cases of COVID-19.
Supervisor Janice Hahn confirmed that all county beaches will be closed Friday through Monday to help stem the tide of coronavirus. The beach closure is the second reversal of reopening efforts within the last two days. On Sunday the governor and the county both ordered bars in Los Angeles to shut down again amid troubling signs of a surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.
“Due to rising COVID-19 cases all (county) beaches will be closing again temporarily this weekend, July 3rd through 6th,” County Supervisor Janice Hahn wrote on her Twitter page. “We had almost 3,000 reported cases just today. We cannot risk having crowds at the beach this holiday weekend.”
The county sheriff’s department’s Los Hills Station announced on social media that all beaches, piers, beach bike paths and beach access points will be closed Friday through Monday.
“This new order makes it illegal to trespass at these locations and is punishable by law to include, but not limited to, a $1,000 fine,” according to the sheriff’s station”
The county health order also closes all beach parking lots.
Beaches were closed at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, but they were later reopened for active uses only. On June 11, they were opened for more passive uses like sunbathing.