How is going to the beach more risky than dining on a restaurant patio?
At the beach you can almost certainly find some space a good distance away from others (at all but the most crowded urban beaches), you're probably in direct sunlight (UV radiation), and likely lots of breeze to quickly dissipate aerosolized virus. At a restaurant you are most likely closer to other patrons, repeatedly exposed to waitstaff (hopefully wearing a mask, but who knows), and potentially in a more stagnant area depending on the setup.
I've seen the beach come up in various sources as a potential threat, but for what most people consider when they think of going to a beach, I don't understand the risk. I've never been to a beach where I had to be anywhere near as close to other people as what the current guidelines dictate. What beach in North America is so crowded that people have to be within 6' of each other just to be there (careless behavior aside)?