The city of Naples closed its public beaches at 12:01 a.m. Sunday after massive crowds turned out and Councilman Gary Price released the photo below.
Price said he received a text from a friend Saturday that the number of people on the beach looked like a problem.
“I went to the beach,” Price said. “It was packed. People were parking everywhere, blocks away.”
The councilman said he took photos to show the crowds, mostly packed close together and not social distancing as required.
“It’s pretty sad,” Price told the Naples Daily News. “It’s such a popular place. We’ll figure it out. We are doing this to keep people safe. We are erring on the side of caution.”
Later Price added that “We really wanted to make sure that people were safe…and what I saw today is what I believe to be really not safe.”
Additionally Price photographed license plates to point out the about of people from out of town, areas hit harder by coronavirus.
“I took some pictures of cars that were from Broward and Miami-Dade dealership plates,” Price said. “And so you could tell from the cars.”
All beach accesses, beach restroom facilities, parking areas, the Pier, Lowdermilk Park, and walkways will be closed as well.
City Council will hold an emergency meeting at 1 p.m. Monday to discuss the beach access, boat launches, and the emergency beach closure order.
The city issued a press release, read it below.
According to the city press release, “In an effort to mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and alignment with CDC guidance and Governor DeSantis’s Executive Order 20-112, the City of Naples will be closing all public beaches within city limits effective 12:01 a.m. on Sunday, May 10 until further notice.”
Per the city, that means all beach accesses, beach restroom facilities, parking areas, the Naples Pier, Lowdermilk Park and walkways will be closed just after midnight Sunday.
