Some beaches popular with Pittsburghers have reopened, others waiting during pandemic - TribLIVE

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Western Pennsylvanians eager to get to their favorite beaches once stay-at-home orders are lifted might have to wait a little longer as beach towns rebound from effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

Down the East Coast from New Jersey to Florida, officials are working to determine the best times to reopen while maintaining social distancing and ensuring businesses and beaches are operating at a safe capacity.

“We have unique challenges here as a destination that’s outnumbered by visitors five-to-one a lot of times, so we’re trying to factor those into our plans,” said Ben Sproul, mayor of Kill Devil Hills, a town on North Carolina’s Outer Banks.

While a set date for welcoming tourists to the popular getaway has not yet been set, out-of-state property owners were welcomed back starting Monday. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper is expected to announce soon when visitors will be able to return.

“Certainly we are trying to do like everybody and balance the economic hardships that everyone is sacrificing in order to find the safest and best way forward,” Sproul said. “Particularly in this area, our economy is very, very seasonal. A lot of folks will say 75% of income comes in three months in the summer. So every week we delay is amplified that way.”

Those slight changes in restrictions were echoed throughout Dare County — home to Duck, Southern Shores, Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, Nags Head, Manteo and Hatteras Island. Wrightsville Beach, N.C., in late April reopened beach access, although only for non-stationary activities like walking, jogging, swimming and surfing, the Associated Press reported.

Dare County had 18 confirmed coronavirus cases and one fatality, according to the county website. North Carolina had seen more than 12,000 cases and 450 deaths total as of Thursday, the state reported.

Tourism down the coast

Similar precautions were taken in New Jersey, particularly in Avalon and Stone Harbor, along with Ventnor City, according to a post on the Avalon Facebook page. Beaches there will open Friday for recreation while stationary activities remain prohibited.

The decision to reopen those beaches came after N.J. Gov. Phil Murphy reopened state parks and forests as long as people follow social distancing measures.

A full list of the status of New Jersey beaches and boardwalks can be found at nj.com, which noted the Atlantic City boardwalk is open. According to a New York Times database, the state has 130,593 confirmed cases and 8,244 deaths.

The boardwalk and beach in Ocean City, Md., will open Saturday. People will not be required to wear a mask, but city council urged beach goers to maintain social distancing.

Maryland has seen 27,217 cases and 1,390 deaths, the database shows.

Beaches across Virginia remain closed, despite crowds gathering on the boardwalk and at Virginia Beach, WAVY-TV reported on Monday. That same day, Gov. Ralph Northam extended his executive order, banning gatherings of more than 10 people and closing non-essential businesses through May 14. It is unclear when beaches could reopen.

The state has 20,256 confirmed cases and 713 deaths in relation to the virus.

Myrtle Beach, S.C., is slowly reopening to tourists, said Mayor Brenda Bethune. Beach accesses reopened to the public over the past two weeks and hotels and short-term rentals were permitted to accommodate guests who were already on the books.

New bookings will be accepted starting May 14, Bethune said. Restrictions were put in place at hotels to help curb the spread of the virus, including limiting the number of people on elevators, no gatherings of crowds and encouraging people to wear face masks.

“Even if we were at 30% occupancy, you’re still talking about millions of people coming into the market, so our main concern has been we don’t want another reinfection,” Bethune said. “We have to coexist with this virus. It has not gone away, but we don’t want to see another peak in June or July when we would possibly have to close down again during our main season.”

Bethune said she is not sure what to expect this summer in terms of tourism and occupancy numbers. Campgrounds reopened last weekend and immediately were almost at full capacity, along with Myrtle Beach State Park, she noted.

Farther down the South Carolina coast, only two Hilton Head beach access points are open, The Island Packet reported. Coligny Beach Park and Islanders Beach Park opened May 1, although parking is available only to those with current beach passes.

Other beach accesses remained closed, including Mitchelville, Fish Haul, Folly Field, Driessen, Burkes and Alder Lane.

So far in South Carolina there are 6,757 confirmed cases and 283 deaths.

Sunshine State reopens

Several Florida beaches recently reopened to visitors, including Citrus, Collier, Escambia, Flagler, Hernando, Okalossa, Volusia and Wakulla, according to Visit Florida.com, which maintains a full list of beach statuses. The Florida Keys remain closed to the public.

Restaurants and retail stores started reopening Monday at 25% indoor capacity, said Edie Ousley, vice president of public affairs at the Florida Chamber of Commerce.

“Florida has fared better than most states,” she said. “Many states would truly like to be in Florida’s position of having under 10% positive cases. I think right now we’re at about 8.8% positive cases and some counties in our state” have under 10 positive cases.

Florida has had 37,431 positive cases and 1,470 deaths, according to the New York Times database.

Despite popular attractions like Walt Disney World and Universal Studios sitting empty, Spirit Airlines resumed flights out of Westmoreland County’s Arnold Palmer Regional Airport to Orlando after suspending all flights out of the Unity airport for nearly a month.

Across Pennsylvania, much of the state is still limited in travel due to Gov. Tom Wolf’s stay-at-home orders. While several northern counties were permitted to lift some restrictions beginning Friday, it is not clear when southwestern Pennsylvania might be able to do the same.

Megan Tomasic is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Megan at 724-850-1203, mtomasic@triblive.com or via Twitter .

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