Some of Sydney’s most popular beaches will be open on Saturday for the first weekend after being shut under COVID-19 restrictions a month ago – but the state’s top cop has warned crowds will be monitored.
NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said local councils needed to manage weekend crowds, with Sydney expecting sunny maximum temperatures in the mid-20s on Saturday and Sunday.
The warning comes after Randwick City Council earlier in the week reopened some of its most popular beaches, including Coogee, Maroubra, and Clovelly, to allow locals to exercise on the sand.
“We hope people go down there and exercise, have a swim, then dry off and go home, and really give someone else the opportunity to go down to the beach,” Mr Fuller said on Friday.
He added with a smile that he was also hoping for rain – although the weather bureau suggested he was likely to be disappointed.
Sunbaking or gathering on the sand is still banned while ocean pools – which closed with the beaches on March 28 – remain off-limits.
“I urge everybody to do the right thing and practice social distancing while exercising so that we can maintain access for exercise purposes and get through this difficult period together,” Randwick mayor Danny Said.
Elsewhere, swimmers and surfers will be allowed back into the water at Bondi and other Waverley Council beaches from Tuesday, through strictly managed corridors on the sand.
Bondi Beach was closed on March 21 after images of thousands of sunbathers crowded on the sand sparked condemnation across the world amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
UPDATE ON WAVERLEY'S BEACHES 🏄♀️🌊 🏊 From next Tuesday 28 April we will be implementing ‘Swim & Go’ and ‘Surf & Go’…
Posted by Waverley Council on Tuesday, April 21, 2020
Further north, beaches on the Gold Coast also opened earlier this week after being closed due to crowds breaching social distancing measures.
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said Surfer’s Paradise and Coolangatta beaches were open for locals only.
“I want to discourage out-of-towners from coming to our beaches. It is not essential travel. Stay within your postcode,” he said.
-with AAP
The post Back on the sand – under the watchful eyes of NSW Police appeared first on The New Daily.
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