Despite Northam’s order, Cape Charles Beach remains closed

Despite Governor Northam’s Thursday announcement that Virginia’s beaches are allowed to reopen, Cape Charles announced Friday morning their beach will remain closed until June 5.

Town Manager John Hozey chalked up the decision to being caught by surprise with Northam’s decision.

In a message on the town website Friday, Hozey wrote: “After seeing what the City of Virginia Beach did, the Cape Charles Town Council asked the town manager last week to start researching what it would take to put together a plan to reopen our beach, using VB as a model.  The CC plan was nearing completion, when yesterday the Governor took us by surprise and announced that all beaches in the state could reopen as soon as May 29, “if” they could meet a very long list of safety protocols.  Opening the beach before these protocols were in place would be considered unsafe.

“With only one day’s notice, it became physically impossible for Cape Charles to meet all these safety requirements to open this weekend (May 30-31).  Therefore, the Town Council decided to set a beach reopening date of June 5 to allow the town manager and staff one week to develop the necessary safety protocols.  While it may be disappointing to some that our beach will not open this weekend, it is important to note that we are still ahead of the original June 10 date, and we’ll be doing so in a way that can mitigate the public health threat.  The Town wishes to thank all of you for your understanding and patience during these unprecedented times.”

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