Anna Maria Island beaches are closed, but not empty, as many ignore coronavirus order

For the most part, residents and visitors are abiding by orders to stay off the beaches that went into effect at 6 a.m. Friday due to the coronavirus pandemic, but many are not.

Manatee Public Beach in Holmes Beach and Coquina Beach in Bradenton Beach were closed to parking, as well as parking along Gulf Drive and Cortez Beach.

Diane Lowe lives in Bradenton Beach. She was walking along Gulf Drive om Friday morning, instead of her morning routine of walking along the beach.

“I miss it,” Lowe said. “I know they are doing what they have to do out of precaution and I know there have been problems with the kids in other areas. Yesterday there were a lot more people than even the day before so again, I know they are doing what they have to do.”

Crowds gather on Bean Point

While public parking lots were closed, public access to the beach is not. In Anna Maria, a healthy sized crowd began to gather on various sections of the beach, particularly toward Bean Point as early as 8:30 a.m.

Bobby Jackson planned to be among them when he finished his run. Down twice a year to the island, he had no intention of not hitting the beach.

“My wife is out there right now,” Jackson said. “As soon as I finish my run, I’m going for a swim. I found out about the closure yesterday afternoon and talked to a lot of people coming off the beach and they weren’t happy. At the end of the day, some people are taking it seriously, though. I passed a woman coming the other way wearing a scarf and she pulled it up over her face as she was passing me.”

Bruce Gray is taking it seriously, mainly because it’s the right thing to do, he said.

“The beaches look basically empty,” Gray said from his vantage point in Bradenton Beach. “It reminds me of the red tide event. I’m mostly seeing people walk out, take a look and come back, but there’s been a few bringing in chairs looking like they had plans to stay.”

There were a lot of people walking up the beach accesses, taking a peek, looking around and appearing uncertain about what to do.

“I see people here,” said Andrea Brown, visiting from New Jersey. “If they are letting them stay, I’m going back to the hotel, grabbing a towel and coming back.”

No way to completely cut off beach access, police chief says

People were making their way onto the beaches at Holmes Beach, too. Police Chief Bill Tokajer said there is no way to completely cut off access to the beach.

“The main thing is to make sure everybody is doing what they are supposed to do which is social distancing for those coming to the beaches,” Tokajer said, noting it’s going to be a day-to-day situation in how law enforcement handles the closures.

For now, he said the parking barricades are kind of a, “forced social distancing with parking enforcement, which has removed 80 percent of public beach access.”

Essentially, if you can find your way to the beach without using the main parking lots, no one is going to tell you to leave if you act responsibly.

Tokajer, who was on the beach Friday morning, said it appeared everyone was keeping their distance from others and maintaining small groups.

“So we are telling them for now that if they want to walk on the beach, just keep your social distance,” Tokajer said.

It was the same in all three island cities. Police were keeping a low-key presence and not enforcing the closure other than ensuring there was not mass presence. Even the Palma Sola Causeway was closed, but there were only small signs placed on barricades every few hundred feet.