Crowds defy COVID-19 social distancing guidelines Memorial Day weekend
HALF MOON BAY, Calif. (KTVU) - As the weather heats up in the Bay Area this holiday weekend, people are crowding public spaces. Some of them are not following the rules and not keeping a safe distance.
People normally celebrate the unofficial start to summer with family and friends, barbequing and having backyard parties but not this year with the coronavirus pandemic.
At Crown Memorial State Beach in Alameda County, people flocked to the beach on Sunday to enjoy the hot weather. Some visitors practiced social distancing and some not.
“It just feels like another weekend,” said Andres Zepeda of Lafayette. “I’m just trying to enjoy the weather.”
“It’s actually scary to leave your house because you don’t feel safe,” said Melissa Gough of Brentwood.
Similar images of people crowding public spaces could be seen across the Bay Area. A viewer sent KTVU photos of Surfers Beach in Half Moon Bay. Beachgoers were seen without social separation and no masks in sight.
There were plenty of people on the Embarcadero in San Francisco. Visitors were seen walking shoulder to shoulder and some people without face coverings.
“Our main concern is the spread of the virus,” said Internal Medicine Specialist Dr. Runjhun Misra. “We know that up to 35 percent of asymptomatic people can be carrying the virus and spreading it to people.”
Health experts are growing increasingly concerned of a second wave.
“I understand everyone is tired,” said Dr. Misra. “We all are but we all still need to remember the virus is out there. We still need to practice social distancing, wear masks and stay home as much as possible.”
“This weekend we’ve had crowds at all of our parks throughout the 73 parks system so it's been a busy weekend,” said Dave Mason with the East Bay Regional Park District.
The East Bay Regional Park District expected the crowds and staffed up, encouraging visitors to wear masks and to stay close to home and not cross county lines. Picnics, BBQs, camping, and swimming are also not permitted.
“We do encourage folks to go walking, hiking, biking when they are out getting fresh air not necessarily stopping for too long,” said Mason.
Most law enforcement agencies are focusing on education with most citations for parking violations.
To mitigate gatherings, some parks remain closed including a dog park in Alameda. At Lake Merritt in Oakland, police were visible. Parking spaces were blocked off to deter out-of-towners.
At Dolores Park in San Francisco, most park-goers stayed within their social distancing circles.