Several beaches along the Delaware, Maryland and Virginia coastlines are closed to swimmers after medical waste washed ashore.
All ocean-facing beaches on the Assateague Island National Seashore, a 37-mile long island along the coasts of Virginia and Maryland, are closed to swimming or wading, the park office announced in a Facebook post Sunday. The seashore is part of the National Park Service and is open year-round.
“We currently have no idea where it came from and will not be speculating about a source,” the park office said in a post. “Health authorities will be investigating.”
Closures extended north into Delaware, where officials in Dewey Beach and Fenwick Island announced they were closing their beaches to swimmers on Sunday.
“The source of the medical waste is still under investigation, and DNREC continues to monitor the situation closely,” Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control spokesperson Michael Globetti told the Delaware News Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network.