Pinellas County votes to close all public beaches and parking starting Friday
Clearwater Beach on March 17, 2020.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Pinellas County commissioners have voted to close all public beaches and parking starting at 11:59 p.m. Friday night in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Beaches will be closed through April 6, 2020.
On Wednesday, Clearwater had voted to delay their beach closure until Monday, but the county's decision overrides the city.
Related: Manatee, Sarasota counties stagger beach closings, starting Friday
Commissioners said they would also ask the state to close Honeymoon Island. The county-wide beach shutdown does not apply to private beaches.
At Thursday afternoon's commission meeting, Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri had voiced his objection to closing the beaches, saying it would be difficult to enforce.
If you feel sick:
The Florida Department of Health has opened a COVID-19 Call Center at 1-866-779-6121. Agents will answer questions around the clock. Questions may also be emailed to covid-19@flhealth.gov. Email responses will be sent during call center hours.
LINK: Florida's COVID-19 website
CORONAVIRUS IN FLORIDA: What you need to know
AROUND THE WORLD: CoronavirusNOW.com
Map of known COVID-19 cases:
MOBILE APP USERS: Click here for map