Beach in Edmonds helps visitors beat the heat and maintain distance amid COVID Delta variant concerns

As the COVID-19 Delta variant explodes and temperatures rise across the region, many people are looking for options to stay cool and safe from both.

Marina Beach Park in Edmonds saw visitors, Friday, as they took a dip in the cold Puget Sound and maintained a safe distance from other guests.

"We’ve got lots of sunblock. We got spray, we got the face stick," said Scott Sloate while sitting under a beach umbrella with his family. "Plenty of Gatorade and water to stay hydrated."

Though not many people had on masks at the beach, they still kept their distance from others in the ongoing pandemic.

"When we get together with friends, we meet in outdoor places like this. And so, we keep a good distance between most people," said Erica Grouns while having lunch with her children.

"We can take the paddleboard and get out on the water if we need even more space," said Laura Wagener before getting in the water with her son.

Several parents like Wagner were at the beach with their children, most of them too young to get a vaccine. Despite vaccination status, the CDC said even vaccinated people without a mask can spread the delta variant. To protect her family, Wagner said the outdoors is the only place they’ll go mask-free.

"We’ve just adjusted so much to wearing masks indoors that even when they lifted the mask mandates, we were still wearing them indoors and especially because my son isn’t vaccinated and he’s so used to wearing masks at his school anyway. I think we’ll continue to wear them indoors," said Wagner. "Although when he plays with his friends, even outside because they get so close and wrestle, he still wears them."

The Snohomish Health District has several cooling centers throughout Snohomish County during the excessive heat warning. Most locations require masks. A list of the cooling centers is available online.

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