No, Crowded Beaches And Trails Do Not Equal ‘Social Distancing’

The sun was out this weekend, and so were the people — in spite of broad stay-at-home orders from state and local governments.
The city of Malibu says it had reports of crowded beaches and hiking trails.
Angelenos also flocked to Santa Monica to escape their cabin fever. In response, the city has closed beach parking lots and advised people to avoid the beach and the beach bike path.
“Today is not the day to go to the beach,” said Santa Monica City Manager Rick Cole in a statement. “We urge our residents to avoid any public spaces where social distancing is a challenge.”
The Mountains Recreation & Conservation Authority (MRCA) announced it would close all of its parks and trails, including the parks owned by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. MRCA manages more than 75,000 acres of parks and public space.
SOME STRAIGHT TALK ABOUT COVID-19
We're all living through this extraordinary and frightening pandemic. The vast majority of our newsroom has been working from home (here's some advice on that) since March 11 to bring you calm, helpful reporting. We are answering your questions and taking more.
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