Port San Luis Harbor Patrol officers dispersed a large crowd of beach goers who were not able to maintain safe social distancing at Pirate's Cove near Avila Beach this afternoon. Robert Marres is a Cal Poly junior and says he and a few friends decided to head to the beach before Spring quarter starts on Monday. He says the crowd just kept getting larger until what he estimates were between 85 and 100 people on the sand. Eventually harbor patrol officers approached the beach by boat and told the beach goers to leave.

"The Harbor Patrol pulled up and said that beaches in Southern California are closing. We don't want that to happen here so they told everyone to pack up and leave. I was the last one up the hill because I was packing up the bbq," Marres said.

Harbor Patrol later said they estimated 40 people were on the beach when they arrived. it is o.k. to visit some local beaches as long as safe social distancing can be maintained.

The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's office requested the harbor patrol make the announcement after receiving complaints about how close people were. The sheriffs office says for now the beach will remain open as long as social distancing is maintained.