People are reminded by this sign to stay off the dunes.
By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Sea Isle City’s beaches and oceanfront Promenade will remain a sanctuary for walkers, joggers and bikers during the coronavirus pandemic.
While Ocean City and a few other Jersey Shore communities have closed their beaches and boardwalks to the public to help prevent the spread of the virus, Sea Isle has no plans now to shut down its signature attractions.
“There’s no indication that we’ll be closing the beaches and Promenade at this point,” Sea Isle spokeswoman Katherine Custer said in an interview Thursday.
Custer noted that the city is confident it can comply with Gov. Phil Murphy’s social distancing orders for people to remain at least six feet apart, even if they are exercising or relaxing outdoors.
“We feel we don’t have to make any changes to comply with the governor’s order,” she said. “We’re not seeing any clustering on our Promenade or beaches. Obviously, we’re continuing to monitor the situation, which means it could be subject to change at some point.”
Marge and Mark Haas, of Vineland, glide down the Promenade on their bikes during a ride in February.
Sea Isle’s 4.5-mile sandy shoreline stretching from First to 94th streets and the Promenade walkway between 29th and 57th streets are always popular attractions during the summer tourism season. They have also become a place of refuge in early spring for people looking to escape the coronavirus crisis.
Sea Isle's beaches are normally quiet this time of year.
Cape May County officials, meanwhile, are worried that an influx of visitors will overtax the local grocery stores and pharmacies and create a huge strain on the county’s medical system if a large outbreak of the coronavirus occurs at the shore.
Gov. Murphy has been among those who have implored second homeowners at the shore not to head to their vacation retreats to try to ride out the pandemic.
