The City of Cape May is closing its beaches and iconic promenade starting at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday in response to the coronavirus crisis.

Cape May City Mayor Clarence Lear said the decision was set in motion over the weekend, when the city’s manager spotted surfers in the water and crowds gathering at the pavilion.

The pavilion was blocked off on Sunday, and on Monday city manager Jerome Inderwies signed the executive order closing the beaches and two-mile long promenade.

“I’m sure it’s never happened before,” Lear, a lifelong Cape May resident, told NJ Advance Media.

Cape May City is the latest municipality in New Jersey to close its beaches or boardwalk — or both — in an effort to stem the spread of the coronavirus. Any violators may be charged with a disorderly persons offense, as stipulated in the city manager’ executive order.

Lear said officials initially thought visitors and others would decide on their own not to congregate on the beach and promenade.

“We were very optimistic that people would hopefully not visit,” Lear said.

The last two weekends, though, still brought in the crowds.

“It’s becoming more spring-like. We just came to the conclusion that, to send a message, the promenade and beaches are closing," Lear said.

Another factor, he added, is that Cape May City’s population of 3,400 includes a sizable number of seniors, a group at a higher risk from the coronavirus.

In a separate but related move, the mayors of all 16 municipalities in Cape May County issued a joint statement Monday — also endorsed by the freeholder board — urging the "elimination of all short-rentals” to tourists until Gov. Phil Murphy lifts his executive orders barring public gatherings.

Their statement asks hotels and motels to “rent only to individuals who are performing essential functions.”

Cape May and the state’s two other southernmost counties, Salem and Cumberland, have so far escaped the brunt of the coronavirus spread in New Jersey, but the numbers are rising.

Cape May County reported nine confirmed cases on Sunday and Monday, bringing its total to 15. No one has died in Cape May.

Overall, New Jersey has at least 16,636 coronavirus cases, including 198 deaths, Gov. Phil Murphy said.

Salem County reported an additional 9 cases on Monday, bringing its total to 12, and also the first death from the virus in the county.

Cumberland has had 12 cases and one fatality.

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