Thousands flood Lake Geneva on Memorial Day weekend
LAKE GENEVA, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Social distancing was an afterthought for many of the thousands of tourists in Lake Geneva Sunday.
“There’s not really any social distancing going on out here, and i really like that,” Illinois tourist Kevin Metro said.
As usual, a large portion of the tourists were from Illinois, which has much more strict rules on public gathering.
More from Lake Geneva. The actual beach is the most socially distant part of downtown, as they are only letting 300 in at a time pic.twitter.com/qa3C2NGQcU
— Brendan Cullerton (@BCullerton) May 24, 2020
“We’re certainly concerned, but I would say, not too much," Illinois tourist Bart Bonga said. "We think too much has been made out of it, and you just have to have common sense.”
Some of those actually living in Lake Geneva feel their city has been taken from them.
“We really don’t feel safe going downtown, shopping in our shops," resident Karen Troupis said. "People aren’t obeying the 6-foot distance. Most people are not wearing masks at all.”
To try and foster social distancing, the city only allowed 300 people into the beach at one time. Its normal capacity is 700.
“We hit that before noon, by about 11 o’clock," Lake Geneva Harbormaster Linda Frame said. "Because of COVID-19, that’s how they came up with that number.”
The local businesses were happy to rake in the cash but some of the workers felt unsafe.
“I have mixed feelings," restaurant worker Austin Chrasman said. "I like the weather, but there’s so many people here. I think it’s too much.”
“There’s not really any social distancing going on out here, and I really like that.” - an Illinois tourist in Lake Geneva just told me pic.twitter.com/BaOTFXhcvY
— Brendan Cullerton (@BCullerton) May 24, 2020