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The St. Johns County and Duval County line is shown at the beach March 28. On the St. Johns County side, beachgoers fill the beach prior to the closing of all St. Johns county beaches March 29. (photo submitted)
In order to protect public health, safety and welfare, and maximize compliance with State of Florida Executive Order 20-68, all public beaches in St. Johns County closed to public access under the local state of emergency March 29, and will remain closed until further notice.
"We have taken as many measures as possible up to this point to preserve our residents' ability to access their beach. Unfortunately, those visiting the beach continue to ignore CDC guidelines regarding crowd size and personal distancing. In order to maintain public safety and respect the state of Florida's executive order, we had no choice but to close the coastline to public access today," said Hunter S. Conrad, St. Johns County administrator. "We will continue to be methodical in our approach to closings related to COVID-19, and like every decision we have made to this point, we will open the beaches at the appropriate time when it is safe to do so."
The determination to close all public beaches is based upon a recommendation to reduce health risks associated with COVID-19 and beach overcrowding by the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office, the St. Augustine Beach Police Department, the city of St. Augustine, the city of St. Augustine Beach, St. Johns County Emergency Management and local health officials. All boat ramps, parks, green spaces and trails remain open for the public to safely enjoy.
For more information, call the St. Johns County Emergency Management hotline at 904-824-5550.