Manatee County will reopen beaches to the public next week

The measure also reopens the beach parking lots, but there will be a two-hour limit.

click to enlarge Coquina Beach - Photo via Manatee County
Photo via Manatee County
Coquina Beach


On Tuesday, Manatee County leaders joined a growing list of nearby counties by voting to reopen their beaches to the public this afternoon.

County commissioners voted unanimously to reopen public beaches across Manatee County at 10 a.m. on Monday, May 4. The county measure allows the public to use the beaches for any reason, but warns that people must still practice social distancing of six feet apart. 

The measure also reopens the beach parking lots, but there will be a two-hour limit. County beaches will also close at 9 p.m. 

Manatee now joins Hernando and Pinellas counties, which also voted on Tuesday to reopen their beaches in the coming days. Last week, Sarasota County voted to reopen their public beaches. 

Florida reported a record high 83 new deaths from the novel coronavirus on Tuesday, which now brings our state’s death toll to 1,191.

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Colin Wolf

Colin Wolf has been working with weekly newspapers since 2007 and has been the Digital Editor for Creative Loafing Tampa since 2019. He is also the Director of Digital Content Strategy for CL's parent company, Chava Communications.
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