SHALIMAR, Fla., March 21, 2020–All public beaches will be closed beginning Saturday.

This includes all beach accesses, beachfront parks and bathrooms as well as parking areas.

Parking areas supporting restaurants will remain open.

In addition to beaches, the county pier will be closed to all activities except for fishing.

All beach vendor and Crab Island vendor permits have been suspended.

While the County didn’t close private beaches and Crab Island, county officials encourage all users of these areas to follow Centers for Disease Control guidelines and keep groups smaller than 10 people.

These new measures were taken to protect both locals and visitors from the
coronavirus by eliminating incentives to travel to the area until April 30.

“These actions were not taken lightly, but were made to protect the citizens and visitors. We hope this pandemic ends soon, but want to be prepared for the worst,” said Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners Trey Goodwin, “It is our hope by doing this we can save the lives of friends and family. Okaloosa County is a strong community. This will end and our beaches will be open for business again–-once we are certain it is safe.”

Okaloosa County news release