Coronavirus: LA Trails, Golf Courses Closed Due To Large Weekend Crowds
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – After being inundated with massive crowds over the weekend amid the coronavirus outbreak, the city of L.A. made the decision to close all its public golf courses, while dozens of trails in the region were also shut down.
The Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority – a government agency which manages 75,000 acres of parkland in the Santa Monica and Santa Susana Mountains, along with the Simi Hills – announced that it was closing all its parks and trails.
The L.A. Department of Recreation and Parks also announced Sunday that its golf courses would all close. Its trails – such as the very popular Runyon Canyon – still remain open.
Meanwhile, Solstice Canyon in Malibu was closed Monday by the National Parks Service. All other hiking trails operated by NPS Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area remain open at this time.
Santa Monica Sunday was forced to close all its beach parking lots in an attempt to keep people off the beaches, bike paths and out of Palisades Park. The Santa Monica Pier has been closed since early last week. The Venice Beach Boardwalk is closed as well.
L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti said parking lots for all city beaches, which include Cabrillo and Venice beaches, would be closed. The Venice Boardwalk was closed as well.
The city of Long Beach Sunday closed all its dog parks, playgrounds and tennis and volleyball courts.
California State Parks last week closed all their campgrounds, and on Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced all parking lots at state beaches and state parks would also be closed in an effort to prevent crowds from gathering.
L.A. County issued a revised "safer at home" order Sunday which prohibits all public and private gatherings. It also calls for all nail and hair salons, indoor malls, shopping centers and drive-in theaters to close. Restaurants are still allowed to open for pickup and delivery orders only. The initial order closed all gyms, clubs and movie theaters.
Area leaders said people can still go out to walk, bike and exercise around their homes.
L.A. County health officials announced a whopping 71 new COVID-19 cases Sunday, bringing the county's total to 409, including five deaths.
On Thursday, Newsom issued a stay-at-home order for the the entire state. Under the order, people can only leave their homes for essential needs. The orders ban all gatherings of 10 people or more outside of a single home and will require non-essential businesses that require employees to report for work to shut down.
