Pennsylvania man refused to wear a mask on Rehoboth boardwalk. He was detained and cited

A Lancaster, Pennsylvania man who refused to wear a mask on the Rehoboth Beach boardwalk was detained and cited Monday for violating Delaware’s face covering requirement and refusing to comply with officers, according to Rehoboth Beach Police Department. 

The department said its officers faced a “defiant lack of compliance” from the 56-year-old man over wearing a face mask, which is required while on the Rehoboth boardwalk and recommended on all Delaware beaches.

The man told a seasonal cadet he would have to "make him" wear the mask and walked away from the officer and back onto the beach.

The officer followed the man after addressing people on the boardwalk who were "now upset and yelling" at him for not wearing a mask, according to a police statement. 

A full-time officer joined the cadet on the beach, where they found the man and asked for his identification. The man said he didn't have it on him, then gave them a false name and state of residence, according to the statement.

The man was taken into custody and detained after "numerous warnings" for refusing to give officers further information.

More than an hour passed before the man agreed to give his information to police. He was issued a civil citation — and a mask — before the officers released him.

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The incident gained traction on social media Monday, when iDewey.com posted a photo of the man being handcuffed by an officer, with two cadets standing nearby. That post gained 2,600 reactions and was shared more than 4,700 times. 

The photos and video of the incident caused "multiple inquiries" to Rehoboth Beach Police, so the department issued a statement Tuesday clarifying what happened.

Face coverings have been required while on the boardwalk since May 22, under Gov. John Carney's state of emergency and the first day Rehoboth Beach opened its beach to swimming and sunbathing.

Farther south, mask regulations look much different in Ocean City, where beachgoers don't have to wear a face covering while on the boardwalk. 

Medical experts are worried that large crowds, like those seen in Ocean City this past few weeks, could spur another outbreak. It only takes one person, asymptomatic or not, in a tightly packed crowd to spread COVID-19 to an untold amount of people. 

“We understand that people are sick of this,” said Dr. Charles Silvia, vice president of medical affairs at Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury. “They’re sick of being cooped up, they need to work, they need to enjoy themselves and they need to socialize. We get it. We feel the same way, but it scares us a little bit when we see a lot of people crowded together with no masks on. It worries us.”