Coronavirus Latest: Delaware Governor Closes Bars In Beach Towns Indefinitely
REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. (WJZ) -- Delaware Gov. John Carney has ordered the closures of beach bars ahead of the July 4th holiday weekend.
Carney also said the state would not move into phase three of its reopening plan.
"The virus isn't going to go away," Carney said. "There's no vaccine, there's no way to chase it away. We have to stamp it down ourselves by our own behavior."
This all comes after several people in Rehoboth and Dewey beaches tested positive for COVID-19 and exposed at least 100 more people.
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Delaware health officials asked that people who recently visited the beach towns, or who live there, get tested after several cases of coronavirus cases were linked to Senior Week.
According to Delaware health officials, at least three out of a dozen teens who were staying together in a Senior Week rental unit in Dewey Beach tested positive for coronavirus. The teens attended several crowded gatherings in Rehoboth, potentially exposing at least 100 people to the virus.
The city later wrote on Facebook that three lifeguards in Rehoboth Beach also tested positive for COVID-19.
"We believe at this time there was very little contact with the public," Rehoboth Police Chief Keith Banks said in the post.
The lifeguards will be tested in the next 24 hours and won't return to work until they're medically cleared to do so.
For the latest information on coronavirus go to the Maryland Health Department's website or call 211. You can find all of WJZ's coverage on coronavirus in Maryland here.
