Beaches Were Shut Down
All throughout the pandemic, being outside was better at stopping the spread of the virus than being inside. Between the combination of the wind and the sun, transmission rates were measurably reduced when people were sprung out of their houses and enjoyed the outdoors.
One of the best places to enjoy being outdoors is the beach, in the middle of the summer. Beautiful, sunny, cloud-free skies, warm salty sea breeze air, and delightful sounds of splashing waves and dozens of people running, swimming, and building epic sandcastles greets you at the beach. Most people famously find the beach relaxing and delightful.
But, during the summer of 2020, the beach was anything but delightful. It became sort of an apocalyptic sandbox, full of rules. From the Los Angeles County’s website, from July of 2020:
The beach is OPEN for active recreational use, such as launching watercraft from, and subject to additional health & safety rules & restrictions. However, the following amenities all remain CLOSED until further notice:
- Walkway
- Parking Lot
- Picnic Tables & Shelters
- BBQ Grills
- Playground
- All beach volleyball courts have had their nets removed
One of the best peaceful, relaxing, leisurely ways to spend a sunny day outside of the home, was effectively reduced to a mini prison: not being able to park, not being able to play, not having a place to prepare or gather to eat food, and absolutely no volleyball. Beaches roped off the courts and even bulldozed huge sand mounds on top of the courts so people wouldn’t get any funny idea and sneak up their own makeshift nets.
In one of the most dumfounding decisions to come from the COVID-19 response, many overzealous municipalities gave a new definition to the phrase “Life’s a Beach!”
