I wonder what will happen to Chicago beaches in July and August

[Beringia]

Will they stay closed or maybe enforce social distancing deep into the summer.



https://www.chicagotribune.com/coronavirus/ct-coronavirus-chicago-lakefront-parks-closed-20200326-zdqpr2p3vfhqdoucu4hqcrtepa-story.html


March 27, 2020

Mayor Lightfoot ordered Chicago’s iconic lakefront and other high-profile public areas closed off, a day after crowds flouted social distancing rules to pack beaches and parks on a warm afternoon.

After warning Wednesday that the closures could be coming, on Thursday Lightfoot said they were effective immediately. Chicago police would aggressively be ramping up patrols around trails, bike paths, green spaces, facilities and parks adjacent to the lakefront, and violators would be subject to a single warning before a ticket and possible arrest if they don’t listen, the mayor said.

At an unrelated news conference, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said she had no immediate plans to close the forest preserves, "and there has been no crowding to my knowledge.”

[msongs]

1. one hears the lake levels are at record highs. will beaches vanish? nt

[mucifer]

2. More concerned about the horror stories from NYC and how it could be us if we don't distance

[frazzled]

3. The lakefront was closed several weeks ago

A little sad, because every spring my spouse can’t wait to get out his bicycle and head out by 6 am to get his 18-20 miles in each morning (usually downtown to the South Shore Cultural Center and back; or conversely, up to Evanston and back).

Not possible now, but maybe starting in summer.

I wouldn’t go in the water for a year.

[Beringia]

4. I don't think there is any contagion from lake water

There is not suppose to even be danger from pools or water playgrounds



https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/php/water.html

[frazzled]

5. The CDC information relates to chlorinated pools and spas

Scientists are telling people to avoid swimming in beaches, and lakefront beaches, with fairly high waves and winds, may be just as susceptible to contamination and contagion. This article refers to Pacific beaches, but I would think it deserves some caution with respect to Great Lakes beaches.

Kim Prather, a leading atmospheric chemist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, wants to yell out her window at every surfer, runner, and biker she spots along the San Diego coast.“I wouldn’t go in the water if you paid me $1 million right now,” she said.
The beach, in her estimation, is one of the most dangerous places to be these days, as the novel coronavirus marches silently across California.

Many beachgoers know they can suffer skin rashes, stomach illness and serious ear and respiratory infections if they go into the water within three days of a heavy rain, because of bacteria and pathogens washing off roads and into the ocean. Raw or poorly treated sewage entering the ocean also poses major health risks.

Prather fears that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, could enter coastal waters in similar ways and transfer back into the air along the coast.

In her research, Prather has found that the ocean churns up all kinds of particulate and microscopic pathogens, and every time the ocean sneezes with a big wave or two, it sprays these particles into the air. She believes that this new coronavirus is light enough to float through the air much farther than we think. The six-feet physical distancing rule, she said, doesn’t apply at the beach, where coastal winds can get quite strong and send viral particles soaring.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-04-02/coronavirus-ocean-swimming-surfing-safe-beaches-los-angeles

[Beringia]

6. Thanks for the info