With chairs, floats and masks, visitors flock to Manatee beaches before 4th of July

After months of self-isolation and business closures, visitors were eager to enjoy the sun and sand on Friday, as the Fourth of July holiday approached.

A line of cars inched over the drawbridge leading into Anna Maria Island at 9 a.m., creeping past the Kingfish Boat Ramp. Parking quickly filled near the ramp, as anglers lined their boats with fishing poles and families loaded their pontoons with coolers and lounge floats.

Visitors soon encountered a reminder as they approached the beaches: “Wear a mask. No alcohol or fireworks on the beach,” the sign read.

As COVID-19 infections began to climb, Holmes Beach commissioners voted to require face coverings inside businesses last week, and the city of Anna Maria issued a similar measure just hours later.

Employees of the Surf, Sun and Sand gift shop said most visitors honored the mask rule, regardless of whether they agreed with its existence. Some were understanding while others were irritated, and everyone without a mask was turned away, Cloe Kramer said.

A man approached the shop entrance on Friday morning, a mask below his chin, and Kramer asked him to raise the mask over his nose. “No problem,” he responded.

COVID-19 forced businesses to close in late March, during their busy season, and visitors were eager to make up for lost beach time, Kramer said.

“People are finally getting to take their vacations from all over the country,” she said. “We’ve been a lot busier than we were last year.”

Jarrett Wical and Jessie Carmen traveled from Ohio after planning their beach vacation last year. Wical, who turned 23 years old on Thursday, said it was his first time seeing the Gulf of Mexico.

The mask requirement was a small price to pay for their long-awaited vacation, Carmen said.

“We had this paid for since before Christmas,” she said. “We thought maybe, with all this COVID stuff, we wouldn’t even get to come on vacation.”

Friday started with relatively light traffic and open parking, but the line of cars grew as the afternoon approached, and visitors began the ritual of circling parking lots and hoping for the best.

On Manatee Beach, just outside of the gift shop, Sophia Derosa planted an American flag in the sand.

“I bring my flag out here because, first of all, I’m American and love Trump,” Derosa said.

Derosa, a resident of Bradenton, lounged with her family and imagined what the weekend may hold. Much like other beachgoers, she was eager to celebrate the Fourth of July and enjoy the fresh air.

“I think we have a double whammy, because last year we had the red tide, and now this year we have the pandemic. I think we have more than I’m used to in the summertime,” she said of the crowds.

Her daughter, Ashley Reed, said she was impressed with the level of social distancing on Friday, aside from sporadic “hot spots” where people were crowded together along the beach. Reed said she was more concerned with her local beach in Maryland, where she lives.

“You can’t see the sand, that’s how crowded it is,” she said. “That’s how many people just don’t care.”

While the beach offered visitors a momentary escape, the Florida Department of Health released its daily update. The state reported 86 new cases of COVID-19 in Manatee County and 9,488 new cases throughout the state.

In a prepared statement on Thursday, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida’s surgeon general, Scott Rivkees, urged residents to protect each other during the Fourth of July weekend.

They encouraged people to avoid crowded spaces, to wear a mask in public settings and to practice regular hand washing and social distancing.

“Every Floridian has an important role to play in shielding and safeguarding our communities against COVID-19,” Rivkees said.

This story was originally published July 3, 2020 at 3:44 PM.