OC beaches crowded, but officials say physical distancing maintained

Some Orange County beaches had significant crowds this weekend, bringing a [url HREF="https://abc7.com/health/newsom-blasts-californians-who-went-to-crowded-beaches/6133086/" TARGET="" REL=""]sharp rebuke from Gov. Gavin Newsom.[/url][br /][br /]He's warning Californians to stay home a little longer now or risk having to stay home a lot longer in the future.[br /][Ads /][br /]Orange County communities have kept beaches open, but with expectations that beachgoers maintain physical distancing.[br /][br /]"From a public health standpoint, I am expecting all residents in Orange County to listen to the governor's order and the state health officer order and once again physical distancing is essential when you are out, outside your home," said county health officer Dr. Nichole Quick.[br /][br /]Quick joined county leaders on a phone briefing Monday, urging people to strictly stay with their family unit and that if you need a car to get to where you are recreating, you're going too far. [br /][br /]They admit there were educational enforcement opportunities along the coast, especially in Newport and Huntington beaches this weekend. But for the most part they say people complied.[br /][br /]They say people who went to Huntington Beach, for example, kept their distance from each other.[br /][Ads /][br /]Beach parking lots remain closed and there are no plans to adjust that on a county level, but they say they hear individual cities might make adjustments to traffic flow and parking access.[br /][br /]Also, the Orange County Fair has been canceled, three months ahead of opening day.  CEO Michele Richards says it was a tough decision for the board of directors, but with information coming in from the government and health officials, it was the right thing to do with an event so large.[br /][br /]"We're just not gonna be in a place even by July to hold mass gatherings like the fair," said fair CEO Michele Richards. "You know the fair hosts an average of 60,000 people a day."[br /][br /]That's a $350 million economic impact every year.