County-owned beaches and Fort Myers Beach Pier to close at 6 p.m. Thursday to limit spread of COVID-19

FORT MYERS – County-owned beaches and the county-owned Fort Myers Beach Pier will close until further notice effective at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 19, in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. This includes beach parking lots, restrooms and county-owned beach access points.

The county sites include:

Beach Parks

• Bonita Beach Park
• Bowditch Point Park
• Bowman's Beach Park
• Causeway Islands
• Crescent Beach Family Park
• Little Hickory Island Beach Park
• Lynn Hall Memorial Beach Park
• Matanzas Pass Preserve
• San Carlos/Bunche Beach Preserve
• Turner Beach Park

Beach Accesses

• Alison Hagerup Beach Park
• Andy Rosse Lane paddlecraft launch
• Boca Grande Beach Accesses
• Bonita Beach Accesses
• Dog Beach Park
• Estero Islands Beach Access
• Matanzas Bridge Fishing Pier

County Manager Roger Desjarlais announced the closure using Centers For Disease Control guidance and at a time when many college-age students are on spring break or are in the area while taking online classes.

“While young people may not be as vulnerable to the symptoms of COVID-19 as older adults, they can be asymptomatic and spread the virus to others, including older adults and their own family members,” he said.

The county will coordinate enforcement with the appropriate enforcement agencies.

The county is also suspending LeeTran beach trolley and tram service effective 6 p.m. Thursday.

For more information, visit www.leegov.com/covid-19 or for the locations of county-owned beaches, visit https://www.leegov.com/parks/beaches.