US
beaches, parks full, pool parties on Memorial Day weekend despite
pandemic
Health
officials issue warnings after some revellers did
not follow precautions while marking the beginning
of summer
The
Memorial Day weekend marking the unofficial
start of summer in the United States
brought big crowds to some beaches, parks and
other destinations across the country, and
warnings from experts about people disregarding
the coronavirus social-distancing rules.
The
outbreak in the US, the hardest-hit country in the
world, has killed nearly 100,000 people and
infected 1,626,000. As all 50 states have begun to
ease restrictions in some capacity, experts have
warned citizens to stay vigilant and continue to
take precautions to avoid a resurgence.
On
beaches in the southern state of Florida over the
weekend, sheriff's deputies and beach patrols
tried to make sure people kept their distance from
others as they soaked up the rays on the sand and
at parks.
In
the Tampa area, along Florida's Gulf Coast, the
crowds were so big that authorities took the
extraordinary step of closing parking lots. The
county's sheriff, Bob Gualtieri, said about 300
deputies were patrolling the beaches to ensure
people did not get too close.
One
video showed a crammed pool where vacationers
lounged close together without masks, St Louis
station KMOV-TV reported.
In
West Virginia, ATV riders jammed the vast, 700-mile
Hatfield-McCoy network of all-terrain vehicle
trails on the first weekend it was allowed to
reopen since the outbreak took hold. Campgrounds
and cabins were opened, as well.
"We
truly appreciate getting to reopen," Jeff
Lusk, executive director of the Hatfield-McCoy
Regional Recreation Authority, told the Charleston
Gazette-Mail. "Being able to open now will
help our trail businesses recover."
Warnings
from health officials
But
the joys of being outside were met with warnings
from health experts.
On
the Sunday talk shows, Dr Deborah Birx,
coordinator of the White House coronavirus
taskforce, said she was "very concerned"
about scenes of people crowding together over the
weekend.
"We
really want to be clear all the time that social
distancing is absolutely critical. And if you
can't social distance and you're outside, you must
wear a mask," she said on ABC's This Week
programme.
The
US is expected to surpass the 100,000 coronavirus
death mark in the next few days.
The
New York Times marked the grim milestone by
devoting Sunday's entire front page to a list of
1,000 names of those who have died in the US. The
headline: "An Incalculable Loss".
Some
precautions impossible to enforce
Authorities
at some destinations drawing summer-ready
revellers acknowledged they could not enforce the
recommended precautions, which have been met with
hostility by groups of protesters across the
country throughout the outbreak.
Yellowstone
National Park in Wyoming and other national parks
across the country, which were coming off of a
two-month shutdown before the holiday weekend,
asked visitors to take simple precautions: wash
hands, keep a safe distance apart, wear protective
face coverings.
"We
can't keep the public away from bison and bears
every year at full staffing levels. So the notion
that we're going to keep every human being 6 feet
apart is ridiculous," Yellowstone
Superintendent Cam Sholly told The Associated
Press news agency.
At
the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee and North
Carolina officials recommended visitors arrive
early at popular spots and keep their distance.
"There
is plenty of space for visitors to spread
out," park spokesperson Dana Soehn said.
"But where they aren't, we're not asking our
volunteers and employees to enforce it."
Meanwhile,
at Arizona's Grand Canyon, officials are leaning
on an unenforced overnight closure to thin out
visitor numbers, but are not limiting access to
the canyon's cliff-hugging trails.