Too Soon To Know When Beach Will Reopen, Ocean City Officials Say

CORRECTION: The original story incorrectly reported when the Ocean City beach will be closed.

OCEAN CITY, NJ—For anyone hoping to spend Memorial Day at the beach, Ocean City officials said it's too soon to know what will happen amid the coronavirus outbreak.

"The first priority right now is the health and safety of everybody in town. It's just too soon to know exactly how and when we will reopen," Ocean City Spokesperson Doug Bergen told Patch.

Michelle Gillian of the Ocean City Chamber of Commerce told WHYY-TV that she hopes the resort town will be ready to open to the public sometime after the upcoming holiday.

"We know there will be parameters with that and we are preparing for that," Gillian told the TV station.

On Monday, Gov. Phil Murphy offered a broad reopening plan, providing a six-point outline to "restart New Jersey and put the state on the road to recovery." However, he did not set a hard date for reopening. As coronavirus cases remain active in Ocean City, officials said they continue to monitor the situation closely.

"The mayor is in communication with the local hospital, the governor's office, mayors of other shore towns, the county's Recovery Initiative, public health experts, and others about keeping everybody safe this summer," Bergen said. "But no decision has been made about when that will start and what restrictions will be in place."

SEE ALSO:

• Gov. Murphy Issues 6-Point NJ Reopen Plan In Coronavirus Crisis

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