Delaware beaches close due to medical waste on shore

Residents in Delaware were warned to avoid swimming — and several beaches were closed — after medical waste began washing up on the shoreline over the weekend.

On Sunday, at about 4:30 p.m., Delaware’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control took to social media to warn beachgoers that they had been fielding reports of medical waste washing ashore from “Indian River Inlet to Fenwick Island.”

“For your safety, we advise visitors leave the beach and refrain from swimming at this time,” officials said in an online statement.

Also on Sunday, the Town of Dewey Beach closed the ocean there for swimming due to the medical waste that was washing ashore.

In a statement on the medical waste, the National Park Service said it had responded as “needles and “syringes and needles” were found washing up along shorelines at Assateague Island and nearby beaches.

All oceanside beaches in Assateague Island National Park were closed to swimming on Sunday, due to medical waste.

Officials have said they do not know where the medical waste originated from and, the National Park Service was unsure how long concerns over the medical waste would last.

Health officials are investigating this issue, park service officials said.