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Pinellas County will keep public beaches, pools closed through May 1

Clearwater Beach
Posted at 7:52 PM, Apr 21, 2020
and last updated 2020-04-21 19:54:09-04

PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. -- Pinellas County will keep public beaches and pools closed through at least May 1.

The announcement comes as the county extended its local state emergency from April 24 to May 1.

Last week, county commissioners shot down the idea of reopening some of the private beaches in pools for recreation and exercise.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Pinellas County leaders decide to keep private beaches, pools closed

Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri had been vocal about his disapproval of reopening the county's beaches. When the idea of reopening some of the beaches were in consideration, Sheriff Gualtieri said Pinellas County's peak number of coronavirus cases isn't expected until April 26. He compared opening pools and beaches to taking medication like Penicillin.

Elsewhere in the Sunshine State, local governments in North Florida were among the first to reopen their beaches. Duval County's beaches reopened last Friday with restricted hours.

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