Coronavirus: on the beaches, a crush to beat the rush
A brief window of beach-time opportunity has led to another display of sun-worshippers defying strict stay-at-home orders.
Lifeguards and council rangers were met with anger and derision at Coogee Beach in Sydney’s east on Sunday after they attempted to disperse hundreds of people who had descended onto the beach for an early-morning swim before the new 9am cut-off.
As a result of rule-breaking on Friday, Clovelly, Coogee and Maroubra beaches were open only between 6am and 9am over the Anzac weekend. Yet the brief window on Sunday led to yet another display of visitors and residents alike defying strict stay-at-home orders.
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said beach crowds were frustrating anti-coronavirus efforts and warned Australia was not immune to a second wave of infections.
Singapore and Japan have both seen rises in COVID-19 cases after faring well during the first wave of the disease.
“We need to be very careful here. We see what’s happening in Singapore and other jurisdictions at the moment where the second wave has taken place,’’ Mr Dutton told Sky News.
After a month of social distancing, mobility data from Apple revealed a jump in people searching for directions by road, foot, and public transport in the NSW capital.
At the start of April, searches for walking directions in Sydney on the weekend averaged about 36 per cent of the normal baseline level. The weekend after Easter it averaged about 37 per cent, while on Friday the number of people searching for directions by foot surged to 46 per cent.
And as patience with self-isolation policies in Sydney begins to wane, Waverley Mayor Paula Masselos signalled the council would “push ahead” with a partial reopening of Bondi Beach on Tuesday under a strict “surf and go” and “swim and go” policy.
“At this point, we are going ahead with our plans, but if people are going to just be bobbing up and down in the water and chatting and not exercising, we will close the beach again,” Ms Masselos told The Australian.
On Sunday, Coogee Beach was again teeming with people seemingly oblivious to the pandemic that killed three Australians in the previous 24 hours, pushing the national death toll to 84.
At nearby Bondi Beach, hundreds of people crowded side-by-side on rocks bordering the Bondi to Bronte coastal walking track, and with so many people crowded into such a small space, there was little chance of people adhering to the 1.5m social-distancing rule.
A lone lifesaver on a jetski was spotted trying to shepherd people out of the water and away from the rocks near Bondi’s southern headland, but he soon gave up after swimmers and sunbathers ignored him. Giovanna Fallabrini, from Italy, who has been in Sydney since late January, said she was “nervous” about being caught on the rocks near Bondi. “I usually just come for a quick swim,” the 22-year-old said. “But the weather was just so nice, I couldn’t help lying in the sun for a bit.”
Ms Masselos said the Bondi-to-Bronte coastal walk would remain open this week, but said rangers and police officers would be “closely monitoring” the area.
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