As the number of new coronavirus cases in Florida and locally continues to decline, Volusia County is readying a plan to reopen county services and facilities that were scaled back to mitigate the spread of the virus.

Beaches and Parking

Just in time for the popular Mother’s Day weekend, vehicle access for beach parking resumed at multiple sections of Volusia County’s beaches on Saturday.

A total of 14 vehicle access ramps opened to facilitate a limited amount of parking on the beach, the next step in the phased lifting of restrictions that were put in place to help slow people-to-people spread of the coronavirus. To ensure that social distancing is maintained, all vehicles will be required to park in front of a post. Bathroom facilities also reopened Saturday morning.

“I’m really excited to be able to announce these additional reopening measures,” County Chair Ed Kelley said on Friday as he laid out the changes during an afternoon news briefing at the Volusia County Emergency Operations Center in Daytona Beach. “We’ve been waiting for this.”

The vehicle ramps that opened Saturday are clustered in seven sections of the beach from Ormond Beach south to New Smyrna Beach. With social distancing guidelines still in effect, beach parking in the seven sections will be limited to one vehicle for every post on the beach. Posts are located at least 25 feet apart in order to prevent overcrowding. Only one vehicle may park at each post. Violators could receive a ticket or have their vehicle towed at the owner’s expense. Driving will be restricted outside of the parking zones. Social distancing guidelines – a maximum of six people per group, with at least 10 feet of distance between groups of beachgoers – will continue to be enforced. Where necessary, the parking capacity at off-beach lots will be limited in order to maintain conditions on the beach that are conducive to social distancing.

Beach safety personnel responsible for enforcing the parking rules are hoping for the public’s understanding and voluntary compliance during what traditionally is a very busy holiday weekend on the beaches.

“It is very important for people to realize the opening of the ramps is for beach parking and not for beach driving,” said Ray Manchester, Volusia County’s director of beach safety. “Our beach safety team will be enforcing these parking measures and addressing anyone who does not abide by these rules. As always, we aim to educate violators and expect that everyone will comply.”

Officials also will be keeping a close eye on the weekend weather and tides, which could impact vehicle access and parking on the beach.

From north to south, the vehicle beach ramps that will open beginning Saturday are as follows:

• Granada Boulevard
• Cardinal Drive
• Williams Avenue
• Seabreeze Boulevard
• Silver Beach Avenue
• Florida Shores Boulevard
• Van Avenue
• El Portal Street
• Dunlawton Boulevard
• Beach Street
• Beachway Avenue
• Crawford Road
• Flagler Avenue
• 3rd Avenue

In addition to the 14 beach ramps opening for all vehicle access, the ramp at Williams Avenue in Daytona Beach will remain open for ADA access only. Vehicles must have a handicapped tag or placard to use the Williams Avenue ramp. As always, beachgoers are reminded to swim in front of a staffed lifeguard tower for their safety.

With restrooms and showers opening on the beach and in county-operated coastal and inlet parks, porters will be on hand to clean and disinfect most facilities. However, the public is asked to be respectful of others and help keep these facilities clean.

Annual passes won’t be available for purchase this weekend at the tollbooths. However, for those who purchase a $20 day pass to drive onto the beach, they will have up to 30 days to show their receipt and have the $20 applied to the cost of an annual pass. Annual passes will be available starting Monday. Also Friday, the county announced that current annual pass-holders who purchased their pass prior to March 20 will have 57 days added to their pass to compensate for the days that the beach ramps were closed to vehicles due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Library Services

Beginning Monday, May 11, nine of Volusia County’s libraries will begin offering public access to computers. Residents will need to call ahead to make an appointment. The computers will be available for one-hour time blocks at the following libraries:

• Daytona Beach Regional Library
• DeBary Public Library
• DeLand Regional Library
• Deltona Regional Library
• Dickerson Heritage Library
• Edgewater Public Library
• New Smyrna Beach Regional Library
• Ormond Beach Regional Library
• Port Orange Regional Library

The county’s libraries will continue to provide curbside materials pickup service.

Due dates and DVD limits:

Library materials are currently due back June 1, 2020 and the Library will move this date out even further if necessary. Library book drops are open if you wish to return items sooner.

Patrons can now check out 10 fiction DVDs at a time and may reserve up to 10 fiction DVDs while the library branches are closed to the public.

Library branch staff are available by phone to assist with questions you may have about:

• Filing for unemployment
• General reference questions
• Research questions

Call your local branch if you need:

• a library card (new or replacement)
• tax forms or unemployment forms, we will make them available with our curbside pickup service.
• to update your library account
• to unlock your account
• to reset your PIN
• Public Computer Access

Beginning Monday, May 4, nine branches began offering limited computer service available for applying for government assistance, personal business related email, and students. Full service will be available when the library branches reopen. Residents will need to call ahead to make an appointment. The computers will be available for one-hour time blocks.

Locations offering limited public access to computers:

• Daytona Beach Regional Library
• DeBary Public Library
• DeLand Regional Library
• Deltona Regional Library
• John H Dickerson Heritage Library
• Edgewater Public Library
• New Smyrna Beach Regional Library
• Ormond Beach Regional Library
• Port Orange Regional Library

Salons and Personal Services

Governor DeSantis issued executive order 20-120 on MAY 9, 2020 allowing barbershops, cosmetology salons, and cosmetology specialty salons to open Monday, May 11.

What should you expect when going to a salon? The following restrictions are mandatory:

• All customers will be seen by appointment only.
• There will be at least 15 minutes between the conclusion of an appointment and the beginning of the next appointment to properly disinfect.
• There will be no group appointments.
• Masks must be worn by all employees while performing personal services.

In addition, salons are encouraged to follow the following practices:

• Thoroughly clean and disinfect prior to reopening. Make sure to disinfect all surfaces, tools and linens, even if they were cleaned before you originally closed. This type of
• cleaning should continue between each day of operation.
• Consider providing unworn masks to clients for use during their appointment.
• Remove all unnecessary, frequently touched items like magazines, newspapers, service menus and any other unnecessary paper products and décor from customer service
• areas.