California beaches brace for Memorial Day weekend

Millions of Californians are heading into the Memorial Day weekend with both excitement and anxiety after restrictions to control the spread of coronavirus were eased across much of the state.

More than 40 counties have been allowed to move beyond takeout service and curbside shopping in the most drastic scaling back of the stay-at-home orders since the governor issued them in mid-March.

California was the first in the nation to issue such a statewide mandate, and it was among the last to loosen restrictions. Police, lifeguards and other officials were warning people to not forget about the seriousness of the virus.

In Huntington Beach, officials were anticipating holiday weekend crowds, and reminded the public that the beach was still an "active recreation only" beach, meaning people are not supposed to sunbathe or sit on the beach for an extended period of time.

"We do anticipate big crowds. So we have a number of extra officers that will be patrolling here at our beach," said Huntington Beach Police Department Public Information Officer Angela Bennett.

"What we're asking is for people to be cooperative. At this point, everyone pretty much knows what's going on as far as social distancing," she said.