COVID-19: Town of Cobourg temporarily closes Victoria Park Beach until early June

The Town of Cobourg has once again closed its popular Victoria Park Beach amid Ontario’s stay-at-home order.

During a special emergency council meeting on Thursday, council voted to temporarily close public access to the Lake Ontario beach until June 7. Council said the move is to assist in the mitigation of community spread of COVID-19, limit out-of-town visitors and discourage individuals from congregating in one place.

Council said due to the size and popularity of the beach, lingering and congregating is “inevitable.” Fencing of the beach began on Thursday. Signage and emergency exits will be located at both ends of the beach.

The town also closed the beach last summer amid the coronavirus pandemic and didn’t remove fencing until October.

“These decisions are not easy and I appreciate everyone’s time and recommendations including the Town of Cobourg’s Emergency Control Group and the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit,” stated Mayor John Henderson. “Our beach is already seeing hundreds of visitors daily and with the upcoming long weekend we want to ensure our community remains safeguarded against further potential spread of this virus.”

Council will convene on May 31 to make a final decision on continued operations of the Victoria Park Beach.

The park’s boardwalk and the town’s more than 230 acres of green space — including 15 playgrounds, 28 parks, an off-leash dog park, trails and conservation areas — all will remain open.

Residents are encouraged to continue exercising and to “walk through” these open public spaces but not to “lay towels down on the sand” for the day.

“I echo (Ontario’s solicitor general) the Honourable Sylvia Jones when she states that we are so close to getting the vast majority of people vaccinated and to not throw all the good work we’ve done away by congregating this May long weekend,” said Henderson.

Cobourg Police Service Chief Paul VandeGraaf says his service will continue to take a balanced approach when called about private gatherings and will only ticket or charge when necessary.

“We know that there are a small percentage of individuals who overtly continue to breach the Reopening Act of Ontario,” he said. “Our police officers and the Town of Cobourg’s bylaw enforcement officers will use their best judgement to protect our community.”

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