The coronavirus is wreaking havoc on our economy because of all the mandatory businesses closures and stay-at-home orders. However, it is having the opposite effect on our ecosystem. Air pollution has dropped significantly, water around the world is clearer than ever, even the streets of major cities are cleaner than we have ever seen them.
Now, because of the lack of tourists on the beaches of North Carolina’s Outer Banks, the pandemic has created a seashell-lover’s dream.
A video shared on Facebook by the Cape Lookout National Seashore shows large piles of multi-colored shells spread all across a beach as waves push them up to shore.
The park service wrote, “Postcards from the beach — Need your beach fix?”
Typically, the shells are gathers by beach-goers during the spring, but because many of our beaches, including this one, are off limits for now, the shells continues to pile up.
Some of the people who saw the post and commented said that the shells could be piled “about a foot high” by the time beaches are reopened and visitor are allowed to visit the area again.
According to the Charlotte Observer, some beaches are still open to residents during the pandemic, such as the Cape Lookout and Cape Hatteras national seashores. However, the park facilities remain closed, including cabins, camps, and restrooms.
Road blocks have been set up by Dare County, which includes most of the Outer Banks, to prevent visitors from heading to the popular tourist spot.
The Dare County Emergency Center said in an email to the News & Observer,“These restrictions may be inconvenient, disappointing and have financial impacts, however, they were made in the interest of public safety to limit the spread of COVID-19.”
According to John Hopkins University, as of Saturday, there were 6,198 cases of COVID-19 in North Carolina with at least 181 reported deaths.
