Merced County regional parks to reopen on weekends. Seven libraries also set to reopen

Merced County announced Wednesday it will reopen regional parks to the public on weekends, beginning April 24, according to a news release.

The news comes after the parks, including Lake Yosemite, Hagaman Park and Henderson Park, were closed to the public on weekends in an effort to discourage large group gatherings that had the potential to spread COVID-19 during the height of the pandemic. Even though the parks were closed on the weekend, they remained open to the public during the week.

Merced County said it strongly encourages social distancing and guests are asked to maintain a distance of 6 feet from others while outdoors or wear a mask when appropriate. Other practices, like the washing of hands, are strongly encouraged.

Outdoor reservation facilities at the parks will remain off limits due to their size and or capacity, until their capacity falls within state guidelines, according to the release.

The entrance fee at Lake Yosemite is $6 per vehicle with an additional $6 fee per boat or jet ski, according to the county. A daily entry fee of $3 is charged at both Henderson Park and Hagaman Park.

Annual passes for Merced County regional parks can be purchased at Lake Yosemite. Due to the impact COVID-19 had on park hours, the Board of Supervisors has chosen to extend the 2020 annual pass expiration date to Dec. 31.

Those who held a pass last year and no longer have last year’s pass on a vehicle or boat, can purchase a replacement pass at the toll booth for $2 each. Replacement passes are only available for the vehicle or boat the pass was issued for the previous year.

According to the county, it is the responsibly of the park users to know park rules which include, but are not limited to, rules such as no pets allowed in the park, swimming only in designated beach areas, no amplified music and abiding by park hours which run from 7:30 a.m. to an hour after sunset.

Additional park information about community and regional parks can be found on the Merced County website.

Libraries to reopen

Also, county officials said Merced County will reopen seven libraries to the public Monday, April 26 for in-person services.

The seven libraries to offer in-person services and hours include Merced, Atwater, Dos Palos, Hilmar, Le Grand, Livingston and Los Banos.

The Merced County Library will continue to offer all programming virtually at this time. Due to facility capacity limits, community room use will remain unavailable. The Merced County Library will open additional libraries as staffing levels permit.

Fines and fees will continue to be waived until all Merced County Libraries are open for in-person services. For more information regarding libraries, including hours, please visit www.mercedcountylibrary.org

Cases update

The Merced County Department of Health reported one new death Wednesday, bringing the number of COVID deaths since the beginning of the pandemic to 454.

The latest death was a man age 65 or older who had underlying health conditions.

There were 32 new infections reported Wednesday, bringing the total number of cases to 31,321. Around 353 of those cases are estimated to be active.

Merced County is currently in red tier of the state’s COVID reopening rules system — the second most restrictive level, denoting substantial risk.