Cronulla Beach COVID capacity: council reveals social distancing strategy for summer
A Sydney council has revealed its plans to maintain social distancing at a string of popular beaches after high demand on the long weekend left some hopeful beachgoers locked out due to COVID restrictions.
St George Shire Standard
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A Sydney council has revealed how they will enforce a socially distanced summer at some of the city’s most popular beaches as the battle against COVID-19 continues.
Sutherland Shire Council closed several Cronulla beaches over social distancing concerns as visitors flocked to the coast on the warm and sunny Labour Day public holiday.
Overhead electronic message signs warned hopeful beachgoers to stay away from Cronulla as the beaches reached capacity around 2pm.
A Sutherland Shire Council spokeswoman said they would take a collaborative approach to COVID-19 social distance management at Cronulla’s beaches alongside NSW Police, the Transport Management Centre, Sydney Trains and Surf Life Saving NSW.
“We will educate visitors via public announcements, social media content, signage and patrols of public amenities including parks, reserves and outdoor pools,” the spokeswoman said.
“The council will leverage the recent NSW Government COVID Safe Summer Plan directive, encouraging all beachgoers to ‘keep a beach towel length’ between others, supporting a 1.5 metre distancing rule between visitors who are not from the same household.”
Surf Life Saving Australia’s Beachsafe app will also amplify safety messaging for prospective beachgoers.
However, the council has not revealed the exact number of visitors permitted on the continuous stretch from Greenhills to Wanda, Elouera and North Cronulla, South Cronulla, and unpatrolled beaches including Shelly Beach and Oak Park.
“The council has undertaken a detailed analysis of beaches across the Bate Bay coastline to determine the number of beachgoers that can be safely accommodated while social distancing is maintained,” the spokeswoman said.
“To guard against the risk of transmission of COVID-19 within our community, the council will work in close consultation with NSW Police to monitor crowd numbers across our patrolled beaches and implement crowd control measures as needed.”
At unpatrolled beaches where lifeguards cannot facilitate social distancing, the council has encouraged the community to observe gathering limits and take an active role in maintaining distance.
“In the undesirable case that beachgoers do not respect the directives of lifeguards and COVID Safe measures, the council will work with NSW Police to take further necessary action, which may include beach closures if essential,” the spokeswoman said.
Kurnell’s beaches were also heavily inundated with visitors on Monday, with some local residents calling for similar electronic signage indicating when capacity had been reached.
The Royal National Park continues to monitor Wattamolla, Garie Beach and other popular national park destinations.