Sydney's eastern suburbs beaches will be closed on Sunday
Sydney's eastern beaches will be closed on Sunday ahead of forecast sunny conditions after the state government closed Bondi Beach on Saturday afternoon when crowds flocked to its famous sands for a second consecutive day, drawing worldwide condemnation.
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Sydney's eastern beaches will be closed on Sunday as local councils heed the federal and state governments' crackdown on large gatherings to stop the spread of the coronavirus which ballooned on Saturday to 436 forcing the state to close Bondi Beach.
Waverley Council closed Bondi, Tamarama, and Bronte beaches until further notice after NSW Police Minister David Elliott forced Bondi closed when thousands of beachgoers defied the social distancing order for a second day gathering at the popular tourist spot on Saturday.
Randwick Council followed late Saturday afternoon declaring that Maroubra, Coogee and Clovelly beaches would not open on Sunday in response to new government restrictions limiting crowd numbers at beaches in a bid to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
Surf Life Saving NSW joined the state government shortly after the Bondi Beach closure to announce that beaches with crowds of more than 500 would no longer be patrolled.
The strict changes come after NSW Health announced an additional 83 cases of COVID-19 on Saturday bringing the total number of confirmed cases in NSW to 436.
Beachgoers trying to soak up the sun on Bondi Beach Saturday afternoon had mixed reactions to the news with some labelling it “excessive”.
“I don’t think it’s fair to shut the beach, if everyone’s in isolation it’s the one thing that we all actually have left,” UK traveller Max Plumell said.
“I don’t know how they’re going to enforce it, who is going to stop people?
“If people need to, they can practise social distancing on the beach.”
Bondi local Beau Johnson said he was disappointed that it's come to this, but he understands it is in the public interest.
“There are a lot of local businesses that do rely on tourists who come to swim at Bondi,” he said.
“So I see it from their perspective, less people here, less profit made.
“But in saying that you can’t just have thousands of people grouped together in such close quarters, we just can’t be doing that anymore.”
Visiting British tourist Victoria Kiomall said she was surprised at the amount of online backlash the announcement has received.
“We’re just reading the comments online and people are just furious,” she said.
“I think it would be worse if they actually closed the whole beach and the other beaches, at least it’s not completely closed.”
Lisa Clark from South Bondi said the "whole ordeal" was an overreaction.
"I think it's excessive, we're Australians, we go to the beach," she said.
It is understood the bans on crowded beaches will only apply today, but that closures will again be enforced should numbers of beachgoers exceed 500 again.
Volunteer surf lifesavers and council lifeguards have also been directed to withdraw patrols where there are large numbers of people present, in order to comply with the Government’s ban on mass gatherings.
This is expected to immediately affect many beaches in metropolitan areas and particularly popular spots such as Bondi, Coogee, Maroubra, Sutherland Shire beaches, Byron Bay and Manly.
Additionally, surf patrol captains and club captains are being given the discretion to withdraw patrols if volunteers are concerned about their own safety, irrespective of the numbers of people on the beach.
Patrols will maintain a surveillance role where possible, and Support Operations teams will remain on callout duty to respond to coastal incidents and emergencies.
Earlier on Saturday, Waverley mayor Paula Masselos was today forced to issue a public plea for people to stay indoors amid the coronavirus pandemic and away from beaches.
Thousands flocked to Bondi Beach on Friday amid temperatures in the high 30s, with pictures of packed beaches going viral online drawing worldwide condemnation.
Photos of beachgoers ignoring social distancing measures have been harshly criticised by foreign media and on social media as the world attempts to slow the spread of the deadly virus.
“The public must at all times keep a minimum safe distance from each other in public places and if you don’t need to be out in public, please consider staying at home,” Ms Masselos said.
“We all have a role to play in preventing the spread of COVID-19 and I am frustrated that people continue to ignore health advice about social distancing as observed yesterday at Bondi Beach.”
Ms Masselos asked for people to heed advice from NSW health including practising social distancing and following hygiene rules.
“No-one is immune to COVID-19 and behaving irresponsibly puts the entire community at risk,” Ms Masselos said.
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