PACKED LIKE SARDINES

Crowds Flock to California Beaches During Coronavirus Heat Wave

Lifeguards estimated crowds of 40,000 at Huntington Beach even as the state remains under a shelter-in-place order.

Thousands of people crowded Orange County beaches Saturday in response to a heat wave in Southern California against the warnings of public health officials, ABC reports. Lifeguards estimated that 40,000 people showed up to Huntington Beach, double the number of visitors of the day prior. Pictures showed large crowds of people, many of whom sat closer than six feet apart and eschewed the face coverings to slow the spread of COVID-19. Government officials warned against taking to the outdoors en masse, despite the heat, as the California state government has not lifted its shelter-in-place order. Beaches in neighboring Los Angeles County remained closed.