Race, wealth and public spaces: US beaches are a new flashpoint of the lockdown

[Judi Lynn]

Beaches are a polarizing issue amid the pandemic. Experts say that’s because a ‘frenzy of privatization’ led to smaller, more crowded public spaces

Ankita Rao

Sun 24 May 2020 06.00 EDTLast modified on Sun 24 May 2020 09.44 EDT


As Florida’s beaches shut down in April, part of the state’s pandemic stay-at-home order, Josh Davis noticed something strange in Palm Beach county.

“A lot of that beach crowd just kind of moved on to the road and the sidewalk. People set up lawn chairs on the grass,” said Davis, an ocean rescue lifeguard with the county. “If the goal was to keep people from congregating, all it did was really push them a few feet away.”

On Monday, when the beach officially reopened, it remained calm. Beachgoers trickled in, keeping their distance from each other, though not usually wearing masks. Davis was relieved.

Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, beaches – like testing and lockdowns – have become a polarizing issue. When photographs of a newly opened and crowded Jacksonville Beach in northern Florida flooded social media, critics tweeted #FloridaMorons. In New York City, residents are angry at Mayor Bill de Blasio’s previous decision to keep city beaches closed during Memorial Day weekend.

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/24/us-beaches-covid-19-florida-access-parks