Manly Beach closed at southern end as council ramps up fight against coronavirus
Northern Beaches Council has followed eastern suburbs councils in closing beaches to the public as the fight against COVID-19 intensifies.
Manly
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The southern end of Manly Beach has been closed to the public as Northern Beaches Council tries to contain the spread of coronavirus.
Freshwater Beach and Dee Why Reserve were closed on Sunday morning in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
After further meetings, the council decided to close the southern end of Manly Beach, as well as Dee Why, Palm Beach and Long Reef as well as Curl Curl north and south.
A Northern Beaches Council statement said the closures were put in place due to the large number of people gathering in a public areas.
“We are continually monitoring and while current closures include the ones below, this changes hourly, so visit the website for the latest updates,” the statement said.
Parts of Manly Beach remain open, but it is the topic of high-level meetings at the council, according to sources.
While people have been warned to exercise social distancing, very few appeared to be doing so along Manly’s beachfront on Sunday.
Manly Beach closed due to lack of people observing social distancing, but tables still packed with families. N Steyne and Queenscliff beaches still open where people are more spaced out. @ManlyDaily @dailytelegraph pic.twitter.com/TlKmvcW5II
— julie cross (@juliejourno) March 22, 2020
Some cafes were stacked back-to-back with customers, despite NSW Health advice.
And earlier today a lot of people were congregated around Manly Beach surf club and not observing social distancing.
Mayor Michael Regan said the closures are in line with the Federal Government’s social distancing rules to restrict outdoor gatherings of more than 500 and exercise 1.5m spaces between people.
“Council has been closely monitoring the number of beach goers all day and our lifeguards have been proactive in making announcements to reinforce the health and safety rules,” Mayor Regan said.
“It seems a lot of people haven’t got the message that we need to change our behaviour.
“We are trying to keep our public spaces open but we need the community to support us and follow the Federal Government rules, otherwise we have no choice but to act to ensure everyone’s health and safety.
“We will keep a close eye on the beaches and parks that remain open and will close other public areas if people don’t follow the rules.
“We are grateful for the co-ordinated and swift response by the Local Area Command, Surf
Life Saving Northern Beaches and our local chambers of commerce, who together with staff are out working with the community and local businesses to help them comply with the rules.
“We are all in this together and every single person has a role to play. I ask everyone to consider the safety of themselves and others by avoiding public places especially ones they know will be busy, today and for the foreseeable future.”
Council will continue to monitor and make necessary changes as required throughout today. We will continue to provide regular updates though social media and our website.
The council also announced that popular social areas on East and West esplanade will be alcohol-free 24/7 until further notice
“We have to be proactive here,” said Cr Regan.
“This week we have seen lots of people gathering to drink on the harbour front, disregarding the social distancing rules.
“While we’d like to keep our public places operating as normal, we have to act in the best interests of our whole community.
“Our rangers will be working the police to help people understand the requirements.
“We are asking our community to cooperate for the health and safety of all.”
On Saturday, 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.
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.
A NSW Police spokesman said that it is ultimately the responsibility of the landowners to comply with the directives, which in this case is Northern Beaches Council. The spokesman said the council can request police for assistance to help if people are not moving on.
Today NSW Police also released a statement saying that it also wanted the community to remain vigilant and call Crimestoppers if they see others not complying with orders and directions aimed at reducing the spread of COVID-19.
Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000.
For any inquiries related to COVID-19, please call the Coronavirus Health National Information Line on 1800 020 080.
Please call Health Direct on 1800 022 222 if you require health information and advice.