Police enforce social distancing at New York beach

Police in New York kept a watchful eye over beachgoers Monday who ventured out to relax on the Memorial Day holiday.

Crowds were lighter than usual at Jones Beach on Long Island, but some groups failed to heed warnings to maintain social distancing guidelines.

A group of New York State Police troopers cleared a crowd of teenagers off the beach in the early afternoon who were not wearing masks and keeping a safe distance from one another.

"I'm over it by now, I feel like a lot of people are. I think that it's kind of annoying," said Brianna Paredes, a high school senior from Levittown, New York, as she was being escorted off the beach by police.

In general, cloudy skies and cooler temperatures largely kept crowds off Long Island beaches.

Officials had feared that vacationers from New York City would come out in droves because of beach closures within the city limits.

The coronavirus causes only mild symptoms in many, but it can cause serious illness or death for some, particularly older adults and those with certain health conditions.

The U.S. ranks first in the world in the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus.

Worldwide, the outbreak has infected more than 5.4 million people and killed over 345,000, according to the same Johns Hopkins University tally based on figures supplied by government health authorities around the globe, though it has become increasingly clear that the true numbers are much higher.