Alabama’s beaches will reopen at 5 p.m. Thursday to gatherings of fewer than 10 people, according to Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey’s reopening order released Tuesday.

The order also maintains strict social distancing guidelines of 6 feet or less from one another if people are from different households.

The reopening of the beaches apply to all sandy shorelines abutting the Gulf of Mexico within the state of Alabama, and was met with a combination of excitement and relief from coastal officials who are eager to welcome back tourists during one of the region’s most popular months.

“We are excited to have our beaches opening and look forward to residents and visitors enjoying our 32-miles of sugar-white sand responsibly by following the Governor’s guidelines of social distancing and limiting any groups of people to 10 or less," said Herb Malone, president and CEO of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach Tourism. "We also encourage people to continue to support our local restaurants who are still limited to only takeout/delivery operations. Our hope is that vital tourism businesses like restaurants and attractions will be opening soon so that our local economy can get back in business as the key summer season approaches.”

Ivey laid out the restricted beach opening during a morning news conference in Montgomery as part of her “Safer at Home” reopening plan.

She said she had faith that coastal officials would be able to enforce the distancing requirements. Violations to Ivey’s order can lead to an arrest and a $500 fine.

“It will be enforced by the local officials down there and the Baldwin County Commission on Fort Morgan,” said Ivey. “They assured us that they want to enforce the procedures. They want folks to come back to the beaches too. I think we got a good deal there.”

According to Ivey’s office, if there are “large scale failures to comply, or if this new rule leads to increased COVID-19 transmission,” the beaches could be closed again.

Swimming pools are also allowed to reopen, but crowds will need to be restricted to 10 people or fewer. According to the governor’s office, the restriction “will result in greatly diminished pool access." Ivey’s office recommends that individual establishments, such as condos and hotels, might want to “implement their own policies to allocate pool access among parties.”

Read the governor’s FAQ sheet on the beach reopening plan.

Ivey closed the beaches on March 20, amid concerns about large gatherings of spring breakers occurring as the coronavirus pandemic was unfolding.

But calls for reopening portions of coastal Alabama back up to tourism have been growing in recent weeks. Coronavirus confirmations in Baldwin County are at 168, and hospitalization utilization rates related to the virus are reportedly well below 50%. The county, according to state records, has tested fewer than 2% of the population.

Orange Beach Mayor Tony Kennon said that his city’s police department will enforce the social distancing measures on the beaches within the city limits. He said that all available police officers will be on duty in the coming weeks to ensure that “there are no issues.”

“We will not allow Spring Break-like crowds and activities to happen,” said Kennon, referring to large gatherings of college-aged students and youths from assembling on the beaches.

24 Coastal Alabama during coronavirus

In Gulf Shores, the city’s police department and lifeguards will patrol the public beach once it reopens Thursday. But ticketing won’t be the primary focus, according to city spokesman Grant Brown.

“What we do is education and inform, then warn and the worst thing we want to do is arrest someone for doing something like that,” said Brown.

County work crews will be removing the barricades to roads and parking lots within the unincorporated Fort Morgan peninsula on Thursday afternoon.

“We will coordinate with Gulf Shores and Orange Beach police for a consistent unified effort,” said Baldwin County Sheriff Huey “Hoss” Mack, whose deputies patrol along Fort Morgan Road west of Gulf Shores. “We will add beach patrols and a visible presence on the island. We essentially will be working it as we do a Spring Break detail.”

In Dauphin Island, Mayor Jeff Collier said a combination of police, medical personnel and Marine police will monitor to make sure safe distancing occurs on their beaches.

“One of things we’ll do our best to stress is that this is a trial balloon,” said Collier. "If we don’t do a good job, it can all be pulled away. We’ll do our best to enforce these regulations. And if we run into folks not complying, they will be asked to leave."

He added, “We are asking everyone to take seriously the guidelines put out there. We take this seriously and want everyone else to do that same.”

Ivey’s order doesn’t restrict out-of-state travelers from visiting Alabama’s beaches. Concerns had been raised in recent weeks about whether reopened beaches will lure out-of-state travelers from regions considered coronavirus hotspots, such as Louisiana. According to Gulf Shores and Orange Beach Tourism statistics, the No. 1 source market of travelers outside Alabama to coastal beaches during the summer months is Louisiana.

More than 27,000 Louisiana cases of COVID19 have been confirmed by that state’s public health department, or 582 people per 100,000 residents, according to the data compiled by The New York Times. There have been 1,697 deahts or 37 people per every 100,000, the data shows.

Alabama has 6,580 confirmed cases of COVID19, or 134 people per 100,000 residents. That is only slightly above Orleans Parish in Louisiana, which has 6,185 confirmed cases, according to the Louisiana Department of Public Health.

“I do think people are coming,” said Kennon. “People are calling. They want to come to the beaches. Kids are out of school. They want to come. For us, we understand the concern of the virus being brought to the town from someone in a hot spot. We understand that completely. At the same time, the beaches are open. We have to do the best we can to enforce the rules as they are given to us.”

Brown said that Gulf Shores officials don’t believe the region will be inundated with visitors this weekend since restaurants and other entertainment venues remain closed.

“Money is tight for a lot of people, and there is that,” said Brown. “The restaurants are not ready to serve (interior) dining. It will be a different experience. I don’t think we’ll get inundated. I think we’ll have quite a bit of locals. The beach is a great place to expand out and walk up and down and there is a lot of space out there.”

Brant Frazier, a charter boat captain who owns and operates Fins & Family Fishing in Gulf Shores, said he thinks it will take several weeks before a larger number of visitors travel to the coastal area. For his industry, Frazier said May 22 is an important date as it’s the opening of red snapper season in Alabama.

“We know there will be a lot of local boaters who will be out, but there are also people who want to (travel to Alabama) to take advantage of catching snapper,” said Frazier.

For now, he said, “I don’t think it will be a big mass rush down here for our industry. But any little bit is a tremendous help for us right now.”

The opening of beaches in Alabama coincides with beaches reopening in the nearby Florida Panhandle. The Escambia County, Florida, Commission voted Tuesday to reopen beaches at Santa Rosa Island and Perdido Key on Friday. under similar strict social distancing guidelines as Alabama. The vote occurred after about 50 people showed up outside the commission meeting to protest the beach closures, according to media reports.

Walton County Commissioners also voted to reopen beaches and parks effective Friday. The Panama City Beach City Council will meet on Thursday to discuss “unrestricted reopening” of its beaches.

Also related to Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey’s April 28 order:

Alabama houses of worship must remain closed, Gov. Ivey and pastor say

Gov. Ivey reopening retail stores, beaches; restaurants still curbside only, hair salons closed

Dine-in still prohibited in Alabama, but some restaurants eager to reopen

Will there be a high school football season in 2020? ‘We are hopeful’

Elective medical, surgical, dental procedures can restart, state health officials say