Not everyone obeyed the order right away.
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A few stubborn surfers at Lake Worth Beach ignored the whistles and kept riding the waves, prompting an argument with four law-enforcement officers on the shoreline.
But the COVID-19 threat is unprecedented. And many beachgoers had no problem with the order.
"These young kids think they're invincible. It's a scary thing," said Iris Tyson, who came to the beach Thursday because her retirement community, Valencia Shores west of Lake Worth Beach, shut down its pool and tennis courts.
"It's like living in an episode of 'The Twilight Zone,''' she said. "Really, it's more like 'The Walking Dead.'"
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With schools and many businesses closed — and residents encouraged to stay home and avoid mass gatherings — it's hard for many people to resist going outside. Until Friday, the beach was one of the few recreational options at a time when sporting events and movie theaters are closed.
"It's crazy. The fresh air is the best thing for people. The beach is the healthiest place to be, with the saltwater,'' said Laice Mann, 74, of Lake Worth Beach.
But health experts warned that people being near people is the danger when just a drop from a cough could infect an unsuspecting stranger. "If someone coughs, the wind can blow it on you,'' one older beachgoer said as the warning flags on the lifeguard tower flapped in the breeze.
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Adding to the frustration on Friday was the weather — sunny and 82 degrees.
"It's so beautiful out, it's like Mother Nature is taunting us,'' Jane Albritton, 26, said as she went for a final walk in the sand about 30 minutes before city workers blocked the beach entrances with yellow tape.
DeSantis ordered Broward and Palm Beach counties to close their beaches after throngs of spring break crowds continued to party in Florida despite the health threat.
The beaches at Lake Worth Beach and Kreusler Park were busy this week. But there appeared to be at least six feet of space, if not more, between towels and umbrellas.
"It's not like a spring break crowd, I don't think, or a bunch of college kids doing chicken fights in the surf," Lake Worth Beach City Manager Mike Bornstein said. "At the end of the day people have to be responsible and take some personal responsibility on how they behave."
The sign by the lifeguard tower offered usual information about water temperature (79), high tide (5:50 p.m.) and warnings about man-o-war. But it also included a line reflecting concerns about the pandemic: " Practice social distancing 3-6 ft."
Twin sisters Karsyn and Kaci Gutteridge were thrilled when they arrived at Lake Worth Beach around 1 p.m. to find it still open. "We're being careful and staying away from others,'' Karsyn, 21, said before the beach was closed.
"We started at Ocean Ridge but that was closed. Then we went to Boynton Inlet and that was closed,'' Kaci, 21 said. "Now we can't even go to the beach here.''
DeSantis' order will last until at least March 31, but can be extended. But some people hinted that they might still try to sneak down to the beach, anyway, before the end of the month.
"What are they going to do? Chase people off? Expecting people to do nothing for a month is absolutely unrealistic,'' said Lou De Stout, who had to lay off five employees at his bar, Harry's Banana Farm.
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"It's either way overblown or they're not telling us something,'' De Stout said, "because in two weeks it went from Trump telling us to 'Relax, have a nice dinner' to shutting down the country.''
Brooks wasn't surprised. He has been following the pandemic and knew beach closures could be inevitable.
"My wife and I made sure to get up and come here this morning to watch the sunrise,'' he said. "I told her, 'It might be the last time we get to do this for a while.'''
Many patrons were confused Friday because the county-operated R.G. Kreusler Park, which abuts the north end of Lake Worth Beach, closed around noon, not long after DeSantis issued his order while Lake Worth Beach stayed open until 2:15 p.m.
"My God! To close down the beaches Are you serious?' I just paid $5 to park,'' Fabian Melendez, 53, of Chicago said when he saw the Kreusler entrance blocked off by orange cones.
Laura Devlin and Donna Kerner said they put $9 in the parking meter and were on the beach for 10 minutes before they were ordered off.
"I said, 'Let's go to the beach. It's better than being cooped up inside the house watching the TV news and being upset,''' Devlin said.
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When the women were ordered off, they asked the lifeguard if they could stay a little longer. "He said 5 minutes,'' Kerner said.
They lingered as long as they could before heading off the sand after most of the beach was empty. Kerner looked around and smiled.
"Let's be the last ones off the beach,'' she said.
Staff writers Leslie Gray Streeter and Hannah Morse contributed to this story.
jcapozzi@pbpost.com