DELAWARE COAST- Face coverings required by the Governor's order, but some beach towns are taking the extra step. Now requiring them within town and city limits in all public places. New rules for some beach towns along the coast. Bethany Beach passed a new ordnance that would make face coverings mandatory on the boardwalk and downtown areas. A map released by the Town of Bethany Beach shows the areas where masks are required, showing the strip of Garfield Parkway but the town says they are also required on the dunes leading to the beach. This includes all of the C-1 district in town.Masks however are not required on the beach. Noncompliance with this order could result in a $50-$100 fine. Making the Governor's original order easier to enforce on a local level. Rosemary Hardiman, the Vice Mayor said, "Order that the Governor issued regarding the mandatory face coverings, we make it an ordinance of Bethany Beach then it becomes civil, rather than criminal." Rehoboth Beach now requires everyone to wear a face covering in all public places. This comes after a unanimous vote by the commissioners saying this is to help to prevent something worse from happening. Mayor Paul Kuhns says, “We cannot afford another shutdown of our City, our businesses or restaurants, so we need each individual to make responsible decisions for the sake of our entire community – wear your mask when out in public.” Public places include the boardwalk, all public streets, public sidewalks, public parks, commercial establishments, and the beach if you are not actively in the water. In Lewes, the city is following the Governor's order. Face coverings are required in all public places if social distancing cannot be followed. Mayor Ted Becker says the city will discuss further possible enforcement at the city council meeting on July 2nd. Bethany Beach also cancelled all town run bandstand events for the summer. The trolley also remains shut down. For parking, all beach front lots in Bethany Beach, which is about 250 spaces will be resident permit parking only from 10am-4pm. The town says this will still leave three quarters of the spaces in town as pay to park, and limit overcrowding on beaches. Hardiman said, "Our only way of doing that, of limiting the crowds on the beach especially with Fourth of July coming is to control the parking. And if we control the parking, and restrict the parking, we're hoping that will cut back on the number of people on the beach." All information about each towns response to the pandemic can be found on each respective town website.
Beach Towns Make Changes for Enforcing Mandatory Face Coverings
