This browser does not support the Video element.
No more beach days in Volusia County during stay-at-home order
All Volusia County beaches have been shut down indefinitely. County leaders announced the change Thursday as the statewide stay-at-home order was about to take effect.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - There are no more beach days in Volusia County. All beaches have been shut down indefinitely.
County leaders announced the change Thursday as the statewide stay-at-home order was about to take effect. That means a relatively empty Daytona Beach is about to be even emptier.
“Effective at midnight tonight, in coordination with the governor's order, all Volusia County beaches will be closed,” said Volusia County manager George Recktanwald.
The county made moves to shut down all beaches until further notice, including beach approaches, beachside parks and county-owned off-beach parking lots and walkovers. Lifeguard towers won’t be staff. Beach safety will enforce the rules and fly the double red flag, closing the water to the public.
The goal is “to avoid sending an inconsistent or confusing message to potential visitors or citizens,” said Recktenwald.
“We need to follow the orders. We don’t want to make arrests. We want to educate, but there’s a reason why we’re doing this,” said Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood.
Those who ignore the rules face a second-degree misdemeanor and $500 fine. People soaking up the last few hours near the ocean Thursday were frustrated.
“My personal opinion is I think they should stay open. At least give the local people an avenue to move around and not get cabin fever,” said Steve McIntosh, who lives in Deland.
“There’s thousands of feet of beach. You can be more than ten feet apart,” said Kathy Taylor, who lives in Daytona Beach.
They say everyone is social distancing at the beach already anyway.
“We’ve been listening doing what they say to do, so I don’t know why they’re closing it.”
But county leaders say this is not optional. After all, “as a country and even worldwide, we're dealing with something we’ve never faced before,” said Recktenwald.
Flagler County already closed its beaches. Brevard County is leaving beach closures up to each individual municipality. Satellite Beach and Cocoa Beaches announced they are closing theirs.