Days before what would typically be one of the biggest tourism weekends of the year, local officials in Galveston announced Wednesday they will close their beaches to the public for the July 4th holiday weekend amid an alarming rise in new coronavirus cases in the Houston area and Texas.
Galveston Mayor Jim Yarbrough said he would also consider closing certain access points for the rest of the summer.
“By and large, I think local people will be supportive,” Yarbrough said in a phone interview. “Of course, our interest is the public health of our citizens. But I think we’re doing the right thing for the people who were gonna visit here who might not now. I think it’s in their best interest as well.”
The moves to close beaches in the city of Galveston and Galveston County, issued late Wednesday, represent the most significant restrictions on outdoor activity in the Houston area since state and local governments implemented stay-home orders shutting down much of the region in the early spring. The beach closures in the popular getaway for Houston-area residents comes as the number of statewide cases climbed to 172,753, a nearly 5 percent increase, and the death toll rose to 2,509 statewide, a 2.1 percent increase, according to a Houston Chronicle analysis. Wednesday was the second straight day with a record for a single-day increase in cases to date, and the first with more than 8,000 cases.
Under Yarbrough’s order, which takes effect at 5 a.m. Friday, the city will close all of the island’s beach access points and beach parks and restrict parking on the north and south sides of Seawall Boulevard. Pedestrians will not be allowed on the beach, though Seawall Boulevard will remain open to pedestrians and exercise activity. Tailgating, picnicking and sitting stationery on the seawall will be prohibited. The beach closure will end at 12:01 a.m. Monday.
While Galveston County beaches will be closed for the holiday weekend, neighboring Brazoria County had no plans as of Wednesday to prohibit beach access, a county spokeswoman said.
The city of Surfside, which governs Surfside Beach, a popular coastal destination about an hour’s drive from Galveston, will be closing its beach to vehicle access overnight, but the beach will remain open during the day.
Galveston’s beach closure comes after two months of large crowds swarming the island following Gov. Greg Abbott’s May 1 executive order reopening parts of the state’s economy, which included encouraging outdoor activities and removing the authority of local governments to close beaches due to the coronavirus outbreak.
At the time of Abbott’s executive order, coronavirus infections in Galveston County had begun to trend downward. On May 16, the county health district reported its lowest weekly coronavirus case total since the pandemic began, with 22 cases. The return of crowds, with mask use spotty at best, was punctuated by a packed Memorial Day weekend that saw thousands of visitors. Infections soared in June, even as testing for the virus in the county has decreased. On Wednesday, the county health district reported 272 positive cases, its largest single-day case total.
The move by Yarbrough, a former county judge, prompted Galveston County officials to re-evaluate its plans for Bolivar Peninsula, an unincorporated part of the county with 27 miles of beaches. Shortly after the city of Galveston released its official order closing beaches, the county released a statement declaring all beaches in unincorporated areas would be closed from 5 a.m. Friday to just after midnight on Monday, based on the recommendation of the county’s local health authority. The closures include Crystal Beach.
Yarbrough’s actions “forced everyone’s hand” due to concerns that people planning to go to Galveston’s beaches over the weekend would instead flood beaches on the nearby Bolivar Peninsula, said Darrell Apffel, a Galveston County commissioner whose precinct includes the peninsula.
“Beaches on Bolivar would be overcrowded and the public health authority strongly advised to shut it down because of the unsafe environment that will be created,” Apffel said.
Yarbrough, who is stepping down as mayor on July 15 in part due to health concerns from the coronavirus outbreak, added that while his order restricts beach access just for the July 4th weekend, he planned to issue a separate order next week that would limit high-traffic access points on the island, such as at San Luis Pass and Diamond Beach, through Sept. 30, when the city’s disaster declaration expires.
The mayor said he was initially unsure whether he had the power to close beaches, but was influenced to do so in part by an order issued Tuesday by Nueces County — which includes Corpus Christi, a coastal tourism hot spot — to prohibit vehicular access to beaches over the holiday weekend.
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All beach access points and beach parks on Galveston Island and Bolivar Peninsula, including Crystal Beach,will be closed through the July 4 weekend.
The beach closures begin on July 3 at 5 a.m., and will reopen on July 6 at 12:01 a.m.
The city of Galveston, which initially closed its beaches to the public on March 29, had begun a partial reopening nearly a month later — open from 6 to 9 a.m. for people engaging in exercise. Abbott’s executive order reopening the state superseded the city’s plans for a gradual reopening. The Texas General Land Office, which governs beach access across the state, informed coastal cities like Galveston that the governor’s executive order stripped them of the ability to close beaches due to the coronavirus outbreak.
A spokeswoman for the General Land Office said the agency has told local governments that they may now close beach access points for emergencies related to public safety. This was news to Yarbrough until he was informed that Nueces County’s beach closure went into effect on Tuesday.
“We got in touch with GLO and they’re supportive of whatever decisions we make, which has always been a concern, certainly over the last month,” Yarbrough said.
Matt Dempsey contributed to this report
nick.powell@chron.com
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