29 Pictures Of Memorial Day Weekend During A Deadly Pandemic
Americans turned out in droves to enjoy Memorial Day weekend despite fears of a second wave of COVID-19 infections.
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Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial start to summer in the US and for most Americans is a time spent with family and friends in the sun. This year, as cases of COVID-19 continue to spread and the national death toll of the coronavirus pandemic nears 100,000, the day's festivities were overshadowed with the looming threat of a possible second wave of coronavirus infections. Still, after months of sheltering in place, many Americans were eager to hit the beach and enjoy the seasonably beautiful weather that most states experienced this past weekend.
These pictures show how many Americans spent their Memorial Day weekend amid the coronavirus pandemic that is far from over.
With the relaxing of coronavirus restrictions, visitors crowd the boardwalk in Ocean City, Maryland, May 23.
Visitors walk past a sign requiring face masks to stop the spread of the coronavirus at Bethany Beach, Delaware, May 24.
Cavalry Police officers patrol Venice Beach, California, May 23. Los Angeles County officials announced May 22 that beach bike paths and some beach parking lots will reopen and curbside service at indoor malls will be permitted. The county reopened its beaches a week ago but kept beach parking lots, bike paths, piers, and boardwalks closed.
In this image made with a telephoto lens, people visit Huntington Beach, California, May 23.
A lifeguard wearing a protective mask stands guard in Delray Beach, Florida, May 23.
A boy wearing a protective mask is seen on the empty Coney Island beach in Brooklyn, New York City, May 23.
People queue to go to the Long Branch beach on the first day that beaches were reopened in Long Branch, New Jersey, May 22.
People gather on the beach in Port Aransas, Texas, May 23.
A man reads among a row of benches closed off to promote social distancing at Long Beach on the first day that New York beaches were open in Long Island, New York, May 22.
A woman wears gloves as she eats an ice cream cone on the boardwalk in Ocean City, Maryland, May 23.
Beachgoers enjoy a game of Spikeball in Ocean City, Maryland, May 23.
People sit at the beach as cyclists ride bicycles in Huntington Beach, California, May 23.
Comedian Ben Goldsmith meditates as holiday beachgoers head to Venice Beach, California, May 24.
People walk past a sign advising about social distancing on the boardwalk in Ocean City, Maryland, May 24.
Holiday beachgoers head to Venice Beach, California, May 24.
Crowds socially distance at Mission Dolores Park in San Francisco, May 24.
Aerial view of people lying in social distancing circles at Dolores Park in San Francisco, May 24.
People wearing facemasks walk at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, May 22.
People relax in New York City's Central Park, May 24.
Cyclists ride on the Las Vegas Strip, where most businesses have been closed since March 17, May 23. An increased number of cyclists have begun using the Strip as a fitness trail amid light traffic there.
Members of the patriotic motorcycle club Rolling Thunder participate in the annual Memorial Day Parade in the Staten Island borough of New York City, May 25.
A Southwest Airlines flight attendant prepares a plane bound for Orlando at Kansas City International airport in Kansas City, May 24. About three dozen passengers boarded the plane with a capacity of nearly 150.
Tourists enter the reopened Grand Canyon National Park in Tusayan, Arizona, May 24.
Moviegoers watch a film from a vehicle at the Badin Road Drive-In Theater in Badin, North Carolina, May 24. On Saturday, new North Carolina coronavirus cases spiked to 1,070, a single-day record, as the state moves into phase two of reopening over the Memorial Day weekend.
An advisory about face coverings is displayed at the Island H2O Live! water park as the attraction becomes the only major water park in the Orlando area to reopen for Memorial Day weekend.
People wait in a queue at a snack bar at the Island H2O Live! water park in Orlando, May 23.
People ride the Cannibal at Lagoon Amusement Park in Farmington, Utah, May 23.
People wait in line for the restroom by the boardwalk in Asbury Park, New Jersey, May 24.
Tourists shop for boardwalk T-shirts in Wildwood, New Jersey, May 24.
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Gabriel H. Sanchez is the Senior Photo Essay Editor for BuzzFeed News and is based in New York City.
Contact Gabriel H. Sanchez at gabriel.sanchez@buzzfeed.com.
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