All parks in Sonoma County were closed to the public beginning first thing Tuesday morning until further notice, another extraordinary step to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic that has the entire region on edge.

The order includes all city, county, state and federal parks, as well as parks on school grounds and beaches. Paved, multiuse pathways outside park boundaries in Sonoma County will remain open, as will a few regional trails such as the Joe Rodota Trail and the West County Trail. Bicycles and horses will be prohibited on them.

The move by the county’s top public health official comes after crowds flocked to Sonoma and Marin county beaches over the weekend, leading to overflowing parking lots and packed stretches of sand. People at the beach flouting the countywide directive last week for people to mainly stay indoors and close to home didn’t sit well with county officials. Many at the beach didn’t comply with the recommended social distance of 6 feet from one another, a key tactic to lower the risk of catching or spreading the deadly virus.