Colchester Beach closed after large crowds gathered over the weekend
Large graduation parties on Friday, gatherings on Saturday and Sunday cause concern
The Town of Essex has decided to close Colchester Beach.
Council met in an emergency meeting Monday night to discuss the issue, after crowds of people gathered at the beach over the weekend.
Officials said it made it difficult for people to physically distance at the beach.
Council heard that several graduation parties were held at the beach over the weekend, and that OPP attended Friday night.
"Aside from the specific issues we had Friday night it becomes a volume issue. How do we police that? It's hard to say," said Chris Nepszy, chief administrative officer for the town.
Nepszy said the town asked OPP to attend the beach Saturday and Sunday at an added cost to the budget, to monitor the beach. Both days were quite busy.
"There was a tremendous amount of people there," said Mayor Larry Snively of the gathering on Saturday. "If we are going to tackle this virus we can't allow huge crowds like that because it only takes one person to infect many and this is why we're still in phase 1 [of reopening]."
Prior to reopening, the town will look to enhance procedures to ensure safety at Colchester Beach — like signs.