The mayor of Santa Cruz has a message for people thinking about visiting the beach town during 4th of July weekend: please, stay home.
The request is centered around safety amid a surge of coronavirus cases.
Santa Cruz beaches reopened last week after the city admitted it simply could not keep people off them.
“We’re still encouraging everyone to shelter in place,” Mayor Justin Cummings said.
Cummings said if people do decide to visit Santa Cruz during the holiday weekend, they should be careful.
“At a minimum, we’re asking that if people choose to come here that they wear a mask, social distance, use good hygiene practices, because we’re really trying to keep our community safe,” he said.
Most beachgoers said they’re following the guidelines, but they also said they’re local and would urge visitors from other places to stay home.
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“I definitely am gonna avoid it, 4th of July weekend, because it’s already Tuesday and it’s pretty busy,” Adrienne Bortnick said.
The city is also trying to tackle illegal fireworks, making sure that anyone caught with them will pay a steep price.
“Here in the city of Santa Cruz, all fireworks are illegal, and over the weekend, we have a triple fine where the fines are tripled for the possession and use of fireworks,” Santa Cruz Fire Department Chief Jason Hajduk said.
