(NBC) – For the first time in months, more Americans are spending this holiday outside their homes.
Many are choosing to drive, rather than fly to their destinations and it’s leading to alarming images of busy beaches and packed parks.
From a packed pool party in the Ozarks teaming with people to shoulder-to-shoulder river rafting in Arizona, folks coast to coast are risking COVID exposure by flocking outdoors to over-crowded areas seeking sun and fun this Memorial Day weekend.
Mike Chitwood with the Volusia County Florida Sheriff’s Department said, “We got slammed, everything is closed so where did everyone come with the first warm day with 50% opening? Everybody came to the beach.”
Some gatherings even turned violent. Six people were hurt after gunfire erupted along a crowded beachside road in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Some states are attempting to enforce social distancing where they can.
At California’s Manhattan Beach parking lots are closed to limit the number of visitors with safety officers actively encouraging people to wear masks.
As similar scenes of packed beaches play out across the nation, the dangerous threat of community spread remains.
In Arkansas, where officials say they’re monitoring a second peak, a month after the first wave. Governor Asa Hutchinson announced an outbreak of new coronavirus cases stemming from a youth swim party.
In North Carolina, where many businesses, including restaurants, are now open, the state recorded more than 1,100 new cases from Friday to Saturday, the highest single-day spike.
Today, as Arlington National Cemetery remains closed to the public, the country approaches a grim milestone of 100,000 COVID-19 deaths.
The New York Times turned its Sunday cover into a powerful memorial for the victims, a striking tribute and a reminder that the war isn’t over.
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