Closing all Pinellas beaches for coronavirus? That’s an overreaction | Editorial. (Tampa Bay Times)

Should St. Johns County close its beaches? I don't think so, based on scientific evidence. We are not an urban area like Jacksonville or South Florida. We have 42 miles of beaches -- plenty of room to enjoy sun and surf, with their positive energy and spiritual, physical and anti-viral properties. We have constitutional rights to enjoy nature in Florida.

Our Florida Constitution states:
Article I, SECTION 2. Basic rights.—All natural persons, female and male alike, are equal before the law and have inalienable rights, among which are the right to enjoy and defend life and liberty, to pursue happiness, to be rewarded for industry, and to acquire, possess and protect property. No person shall be deprived of any right because of race, religion, national origin, or physical disability.

1. OPINION

Closing all Pinellas beaches for coronavirus? That’s an overreaction | Editorial

Residents need outlets to responsibly maintain their physical and mental health.

A look at the City of St. Petersburg Municipal Beach at Treasure Island, 11260 Gulf Blvd, Thursday, March 19, 2020 in Treasure Island Beach. All Pinellas beaches will shut down after Friday night. County commissioners voted unanimously to close Pinellas' lucrative beaches after 11:59 p.m. Friday over the objections of Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, who says crowds are thinning anyway. [DIRK SHADD | Times]

By Tampa Bay Times Editorial Board

Published Mar. 19

Updated Yesterday

Pinellas County commissioners overreacted by ordering the county’s beaches to be closed over the objections of Sheriff Bob Gualtieri. The ban that takes effect Friday night will be next to impossible to enforce, is based more on politics than science regarding the spread of the coronavirus and sends the wrong message to the public. There are more sensible ways to promote social distancing and encourage responsible behavior than acting unilaterally to limit choices for residents who need options to maintain their physical activity and mental health as they settle in for a long disruption of normal routines.

The closing of 35 miles of beaches does not reflect the evolving situation. The beach hotels are emptying out. The scenes of Clearwater Beach jam-packed with kids on spring break from earlier this week that prompted the Clearwater City Council to close down that beach are history. County commissioners were looking backward rather than forward when they voted unanimously to close all beaches for at least two weeks.

Gualtieri provided good reasons not to close the beaches. Helicopter footage shown at Thursday’s meeting reflected a beach sparsely populated, and some of those there had drawn circles around their beach chairs to keep six feet apart. The sheriff’s other concern is enforcement. First, the policy only extends to dry sand, because wet sand and the water are under state jurisdiction. So people can walk the beach, as long as they are standing on wet sand. And the ban does not apply to private beach areas owned and managed by hotels or private property owners. So residents and visitors who can afford beachfront homes or hotel rooms can be on the beach, but everyone else can’t?

Gov. Ron DeSantis has taken a more realistic approach. He ordered beaches in Broward and Palm Beach counties closed on Friday but gave county officials some flexibility to modify the rules. He also indicated Thursday he would rather have people practice social distancing on the beaches than close them. “They want you to social distance, of course,” he said. “But they actually encourage people to get fresh air.” That’s an excellent point. This is a crisis that is going to play out over weeks, and it does not promote good mental and physical health to continue to limit options for residents to safely leave their homes and get outside for a bit.

There was a sense of panic among some county commissioners during the beach discussion, a desperation to appear to be in control and a reluctance to rely on the judgment of the professionals such as Gualtieri and County Administrator Barry Burton. Commissioner Kathleen Peters, who urged her colleagues to rely on their judgment, was a notable exception before she reluctantly voted for the ban. It’s also notable that Dr. Ulyee Choe, the director of the Florida Department of Health in Pinellas County, did not directly endorse the beach closing. "Any measures that can assist with that social aspect is something I would support,'' Choe said, diplomatically.

There are more practical ways to do that than further alarming residents with such drastic measures as closing the beaches. Maintaining physical and mental health will continue to be important during this coronavirus crisis. County commissioners should get some fresh air and rely on the professionals for guidance. They could stay six feet apart and take a walk along the beach.

Editorials are the institutional voice of the Tampa Bay Times. The members of the Editorial Board are Times Chairman and CEO Paul Tash, Editor of Editorials Tim Nickens, and editorial writers Elizabeth Djinis, John Hill and Jim Verhulst. Follow @TBTimes_Opinion on Twitter for more opinion news.