UPDATE: Escambia Commissioners vote to CLOSE Pensacola Beach
UPDATE: Alabama Governor Kay Ivey has ordered the closure of all Alabama beaches.
"All beaches will be closed effective today at 5:00 p.m. For clarification, the term “beach” means the sandy shoreline area abutting the Gulf of Mexico, whether privately or publicly owned, including beach access points."
“Closing Alabama beaches is not a simple decision but one that I came to with the consultation of our elected officials along the coast and members of my administration. After many rounds of conversations with local leaders, in which we discussed several options, I have decided to close beach access in any form. Since we do not want to promote social gatherings, keeping the beaches open sends the wrong message to the public. At this moment, the safety and wellbeing of Alabamians is paramount."
UPDATE: Navarre Beach and the Navarre Beach Fishing Pier will close by the end of the day.
UPDATE: Okaloosa and Walton County beaches are closing, but Pensacola Beach is staying open
Hotels are limiting occupancy to 50% and implementing social distancing, but with 26 miles of beaches, the idea is that people have room to spread out.
The mayor of Gulf Shores is closing public beaches as of Friday morning; the closing tentatively lasts through April 6th.
Also today, the Baldwin County Commission voted to close public access points to the beach in unincorporated Fort Morgan. The Governor had asked local officials to come to a consensus on whether beaches should be closed. The final decision will be the Governor's... including when to close and for how long.
Dauphin Island has already closed public access beaches.
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The mayor of Gulf Shores is closing public beaches as of Friday morning; the closing tentatively lasts through April 6th.
Mayor Robert Craft wants to see all beaches closed, to protect locals and visitors. He says Spring Breakers are not adhering to social distancing and they can't control the crowds. Gulf Shores doesn't want to facilitate the spread of COVID-19; the city also wants to protect locals, many of whom are elderly.
Parking areas will be closed, blocking access to public beaches.
Mayor Craft made the following announcement this morning:
"Effective 7 a.m. tomorrow all public beaches in Gulf Shores will close with a tentative reopen date of Monday, April 6. Additionally, we will be requesting the Baldwin County Commission, Town of Dauphin Island, and City of Orange Beach join us in asking Governor Kay Ivey to close all Alabama beaches for the same time frame."