San Diego To Reopen Beaches To Surfing As Soon As Monday

After what’s felt like a month of serious bitching and moaning, wailing and gnashing of teeth, San Diego surfers can take a deep breath. 

Yesterday San Diego County officials announced plans to reopen beaches to surfing, swimming and other watersports as soon as Monday. While surfers and swimmers, etc. will be allowed to scurry across the sand to relative safety in the brine, beashes will remain closed to loitering of any kind. 

According to the Times of San Diego, San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher says the “opening is limited to crossing a beach to enter the water. People cannot sit on the beach, and piers, boardwalks and parking lots will remained closed.

He also said it will be up to coastal cities to actually open their beaches and monitor access, and noted that state beaches remain closed. County officials said individual cities could permit walking and running on beaches provided social distancing is enforced.

“Before you head out to your local beach on Monday, I would encourage you to check with your local city to determine if they will be open, staffed and ready,” he cautioned.

As of Friday night, San Diego announced it will permit walking and running on beaches, but Del Mar and Solana Beach will keep their beaches closed. Carlsbad has scheduled a special city council meeting for Saturday afternoon to make a decision. Coronado, Imperial Beach and Oceanside had not yet made a decision.

The county also issued a new public health order requiring all residents to wear face coverings when within six feet of a non-household member beginning May 1.”

In addition to reopening the ocean to surfing, new plans to require all residents to wear face masks within six feet of non-household members will go into place on May 1. 

“We believe this is going to be part of life in the new normal,” said [San Diego County Supervisor Nathan] Fletcher. “Getting in the habit of having a face covering when you leave your house — that’s going to be part of the change.”

Fletcher has come under fire from surfers and watersports “enthusiasts” during the lockdown, after a misleading quote from Scientist Kim Prather went viral, and not surprisingly resulted in beach closures internationally. 

As of this writing, Los Angeles County still has bans on surfing and beaches remain closed from Huntington Beach to Ventura County. There is no word on whether LA County will follow suit with San Diego and San Clemente.