Manatee County extends state of emergency due to coronavirus. There are more closures 

A local state of emergency that was issued in Manatee County in response to the coronavirus pandemic has been extended, county officials announced Monday.

The state of emergency will now last until April 7, and it has been expanded to include the temporary closure of several public facilities.

Tennis and pickle ball courts operated by the county will be temporarily closed to the public starting Tuesday. A statement from Manatee County said that crowds of people have continued to gather at the sites and failed to observe social distancing precautions.

Public skate parks were also included in the expanded state of emergency.

County-operated skate parks at G.T. Bray Park in Bradenton and Blackstone Park in Palmetto were set to close, effective Tuesday.

The city of Bradenton has also shut down the Bradenton Riverwalk skate park in accordance with the new safety measures.

Additionally, the Lena Road Landfill, 3333 Lena Road, Bradenton. will be temporarily closed on Saturdays. It will remain open during the week.

The county also extended an emergency burn ban until April 7, citing the current drought.

Manatee County issued its initial state of emergency declaration on March 16 when only five local cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed.

As of Monday evening, there have been 42 cases confirmed in Manatee County, and one person has died of the disease. Local testing remains extremely limited.

A state of emergency allows the county to expand local emergency operations and become eligible for federal reimbursement on emergency spending.

“It’s not to panic the public. It’s really for tracking and financial purchases,” Public Safety Director Jacob Saur told commissioners when the declaration was approved two weeks ago.