Credit: Photo via Adobe Images

Credit: Photo via Adobe Images

This afternoon, Pinellas County lifted restrictions on pools, playgrounds, and the mandate that visitors must maintain social distancing while at the beach.

The Board of County Commissioners voted Thursday to immediately lift the requirement of staying six-feet apart at the beach, as well as limiting groups of people no larger than 10. 

While law enforcement officers will no longer patrol beaches looking for social distancing violations, the order encourages people to continue practicing social distancing on their own, and continue to wear face masks. 

Commissioners also voted to allow hotel and motel pools to operate at full capacity, while pools at apartments, condominiums and HOAs must wait until June 1.

The board also voted to extend the local state of emergency to June 6, and to allow playgrounds to reopen next Monday, June 1. 

As of today, Florida has reported 53,285 COVID-19 cases, and 2,446 deaths.

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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...