Coronavirus: Summer-safe plan is no shore thing

As temperatures heat up, so does the temptation to ignore COVID-19 restrictions, hit the beach and risk a resurgence of virus cases.

Crowds of people at Sydney's Bondi Beach. State premiers in NSW and Victoria have begun outlining COVID-safe plans to control overcrowding at beaches and avoid a spike in infections during the summer holidays. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Bianca De Marchi

As temperatures heat up, so does the temptation to ignore COVID-19 restrictions, hit the beach and risk a resurgence of virus cases.

But state premiers in NSW and Victoria have begun outlining COVID-safe plans to control overcrowding at beaches and avoid a spike in infections during the summer holidays.

On Monday, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the state was entering a high-risk period as the warmer weather returns in the lead-up to the warmer months.

“During the school holidays, understandably, families will be moving all across NSW and if the virus is circulating in parts of the state, with so much mobility going on we do worry about what that might mean for other parts of the state,” she said.

“This is happening at the same time as we’re easing border restrictions between Victoria and NSW so there’s more people coming across.

“All this means we’re heading into a bit of a high-risk period and we just want to make sure everybody is aware and nobody is complacent because the second we get complacent, the virus will beat us.”

The NSW government’s COVID-safe summer plan, announced on Monday, includes social distancing guidelines for beaches and changes to regu­lations on outdoor drinking and dining in Sydney in a bid to resuscitate the city’s hospitality sector over summer.

Minster for Planning and Public Spaces Rob Stokes said the government had one “simple rule” for visiting beaches over the summer.

“It’s keep a towel length from the person next to you — that’s the best way you can ensure that you are keeping yourself and the people next to you safe,” he said.

Charlie Sennery, 27, travelled from the city’s inner west on Monday to enjoy the beach while it remains open. She said while she has faith in the government implementing the right protocol, she is not sure people will obey it.

“I work in an industry that’s been heavily effected by corona­virus so it is still very real in my mind, but I don’t understand how the measures can work effectively at the beach and in the ocean,” she said. “Although I think it’s good to have a protocol, I’m just not aware of how it will function.”

Gabriella Douka, 26, said she hoped the government’s plan would work because she wanted to “enjoy summer and go out”.

Her friend Paolo Apostolides, 26, said the new plan would remind people to follow the rules over the holiday period. “We should be able to go out and there should be safe way to do it,” he said. “I think most people will try to follow the restrictions as closely as they can and it’s good to have a safe plan to look to.”

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews on Monday said this summer would be “like never before”, and the government was working on “creative and inventive things” to allow for more use of outdoor spaces. “Not just for this summer but potentially for every summer.

“We can close lanes. We can close streets. We can do all sorts of creative and inventive things and have [an] alfresco experience, not just this summer but every summer.”

It comes after Victoria recorded just 11 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, while the number of infections in NSW grew by four.