Goderich's beaches were temporarily closed to new traffic Saturday because capacity reached a point where proper social distancing was not possible.
Mayor Grace posted the news on Facebook at 2:40 p.m. Saturday, after town workers closed access to the beaches at 2:10 p.m. Grace said the beaches would reopen later Saturday evening.
Grace stated groups who were on the beach were respecting the rules regarding social distancing but they felt they had to close access to the beaches for a few hours to make sure that continued to be the case.
“We had great social distancing today at the beach. Everyone was in groups of ten. So we would consider this a really good day and that's how we manage the beach, so there wasn't an issue with social distancing at all,” said Grace.
This isn't the first time the town had to close access to the beaches for reaching what officials consider 'COVID-19 operation capacity'. It happened on the Saturday during the Civic Holiday weekend.
Since certain restrictions have eased, the beaches in Goderich have had many visitors.
Grace mentioned that he wants people to enjoy the beaches and the town however, capacity does not mean how many people the beach can accommodate, but how many it can accommodate while complying with social distancing.
-With files from Bob Montgomery
