Coogee, Maroubra and Clovelly beaches are officially closed again, just five days after they reopened for exercise after people failed to follow safe social distancing practices.
The three Randwick City beaches were closed shortly after 1pm on Friday after hundreds of people flocked to the popular beaches to enjoy the sunshine.
“There were too many people on the sand and people were unable to follow safe social distancing practices so lifeguards and rangers are in the process of moving people off the beach now,” a Randwick City Council spokesperson said on Friday, according to the Daily Mail.
The beaches will remain closed for the rest of the day, but will reopen for exercise purposes on Saturday morning. However, a Randwick City Council spokesperson was quick to point out that they wouldn’t hesitate to close them again if people weren’t following the rules.
Basically, people interpreted the “reopened for exercise” rule to mean that they could have a casual splash in the shallows all afternoon.
“We found there were too many people paddling at the shoreline for long periods of time, which reduces the amount of space available at the beach.”
As it turns out, you’re only allowed to go to the beach for genuine exercise purposes. Put simply, you’re allowed to swim a couple of laps, run along the beach or go for a quick surf, but this *isn’t* just an excuse to spend the whole day soaking up some vitamin D.
“We really need for people to swim their laps, surf or soft sand run for exercise, then leave immediately.”
Randwick City Mayor Danny Said explained on Friday that the beaches will only remain open if people follow social distancing measures appropriately.
“Get fit and go, as we like to say. Our beaches are not open for leisure, they are available for exercise only.”
The Mayor also stressed that this isn’t an excuse to hop in the car and drive down to Maroubra for a quick dip. Basically, you’re only supposed to be hitting the beach for exercise if it’s within walking/cycling distance of your house and you’re going purely for exercise purposes.
“The stay-at-home public health orders remain in place, which require people to not leave their homes unless it is for essential reasons. This means people should not be hopping in their cars to travel to our beaches.”
All three beaches will reopen on Saturday morning, but if you’re planning on just heading down to get a nice tan, please stay home.
