Coronavirus: Pensacola Beach to close through April 2, Escambia County orders

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Escambia County Commissioners have ordered that Pensacola Beach and Perdido Key Beach close to the public for two weeks, starting at midnight Friday and lasting until April 2.

After more than three and a half hours of discussion at a special meeting Friday, the commissioners voted unanimously to close all public areas of the county's beaches.

Violating an emergency order during a declared state emergency is a misdemeanor offense.

The board also voted unanimously to have the Bob Sikes tolls go to all-electronic collections immediately, a move that was initially planned for April.

After the vote, Gulf Islands National Seashore announced it would follow the lead of local governments and the Fort Pickens, Perdido Key, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa areas would be closed as of 5 p.m. Friday.

In addition, the county is asking the state of Florida to close its beaches on Perdido Key.

Escambia County's decision to close its beaches was an abrupt departure from officials' message the day prior. On Thursday, Escambia County Commissioner Robert Bender held a press conference to say Pensacola Beach would remain open as members of the hotel industry pledged to limit their occupancy rates to 50%.

Bender said the county would keep the beach open but urged visitors to follow social distancing guidelines, limiting themselves to groups no larger than 10 people and maintaining at least 6 feet of separation.

But hospital executives and Dr. John Lanza, director of the Florida Department of Health in Escambia County, sent a letter to the county Thursday calling on commissioners to take more steps to stop people from gathering in large crowds, including closing beaches.

A similar letter sent to Santa Rosa County Commissioners is what convinced officials there to have a change of heart and close Navarre Beach, said Santa Rosa County Commission Chairman Don Salter.

Also on Friday, Escambia County was going to consider following the city's lead to limit restaurant operations to take-out only, an order Pensacola Mayor Grover Robinson issued Thursday. But that decision was taken out of the County Commission's hands when Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order limiting all restaurants in the state to carryout or delivery only.

Commissioner Doug Underhill said he didn't support measures to limit restaurant services, saying they would hurt local workers and he didn't believe any relief would make it to them from the federal government.

"It's impossible for me to believe that there's this mass infusion from the federal government that is going to be coming in a timely enough fashion to actually protect these workers that I'm most concerned about," Underhill said. "I don't know if you know who these people are, but they live their lives on a very thin margin. The paycheck pays the bills. The tips pay for the groceries."

Underhill also said there was not enough data about the coronavirus to support making the decision.

Baptist Health Care President and CEO Mark Faulkner told the commission the measures were needed to limit the spread of the virus and preserve the health care system's capacity to treat patients. He said more testing can be done to get a true handle on the problem.

"We've walked into a dark room with small flashlight, and we've said, we've had one (positive test)," Faulkner said. "When we turn on the lights, we're going to see we have a lot more than one. We don't have the ability to turn on the lights right now."

When originally opting to keep the beaches open, Bender said the county was following guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

However, Grant Bridges, a Pensacola Beach lifeguard, said that on Casino Beach, especially around the pier, people have not been adhering to the guidelines to stay in groups of 10 or less and are ignoring lifeguards' instructions to disperse.

"We have groups of 30, 40, 50 high schoolers going there every day," Bridges said. "We have Navy guys going behind, too, and wrestling and getting intoxicated. These are the facts. Really what concerns me is Casino Beach. That's where we have the most rescues. That's where we have the most people go."

Bridges added he and his two sisters, who also are lifeguards, are worried that they'll rescue someone who is infected with the coronavirus and bring it back to their family and older parents.

"I'm seriously concerned that if we keep these beaches open, continuing this crisis, people like me, lifeguards like me will put their families at risk," Bridges said.

Ultimately, after hours of discussion, the entire commission decided to shut down the county's beaches for the next two weeks. Bender said he hopes projections about how the virus will impact the health care system are wrong.

"This is a huge economic impact, but lives do matter more," Bender said. "We can come back from economic impacts. So when we do get some direction or requests from our health care professionals, it becomes difficult for me to look them in the face and either tell them I can't do that, or they don't know what they're talking about."

With its vote Friday, Escambia County became the last county in Northwest Florida to order its beaches closed. Santa Rosa County on Friday morning ordered Navarre Beach to close, a day after officials said at a press conference that the beach would stay open.

Beaches at Okaloosa and Walton counties, as well as public beaches in Destin, have also closed. Panama City Beach leaders voted Friday to close the city’s nine miles of beaches starting at 7 p.m. Friday through Thursday — at which point the council will reconvene and determine if the closure should be extended.

Under the terms of the Panama City Beach emergency ordinance, police will have discretion in how to enforce the closure, such as blocking the beach access points. Failure to comply with the closure could result in a $500 fine or up to 30 days in jail

Beaches to the west of Pensacola across the state line have also closed after Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey ordered their closure.

Jim Little can be reached at jwlittle@pnj.com and 850-208-9827.