Beaches busy as Europe and U.S. test new coronavirus rules

Summer weather is enticing much of the world to emerge from coronavirus lockdowns as centres of the outbreak from New York to Italy and Spain gradually lift restrictions that have kept millions indoors for months, according to Lisa Shumaker, for Reuters.

Shumaker says people are streaming back to beaches, parks and streets just as a heat wave hits Southern Europe and spring-like temperatures allow Americans to shed winter coats.

Greeks flocked to the seaside on Saturday when more than 500 beaches reopened, coinciding with temperatures of 34 Celsius (93 Fahrenheit). Umbrella poles had to be 4 meters (13 ft) apart, with canopies no closer than 1m.

White circles were painted on the lawn in Brooklyn’s Domino Park in New York City to help sunbathers and picnickers keep a safe distance.

On the French Riviera, many who took a dip in the sea wore protective masks. Fishing and surfing were also allowed, but sunbathing was banned.

Bathers seeking relief from the heat in Tel Aviv in the waters of the Mediterranean Sea and Jordan Valley mostly tried to stay apart. “We hope that the hot water, weather, make corona go away,” said Lilach Vardi, a woman who came to swim in the Dead Sea in Israel, as a lifeguard tried to fry an egg in a pan in the scorching sand nearby. Read the full article online.

In the UK, according to The Sun, visitors flocked to Durdle Door in Dorset, while beachgoers walked along the promenade on the Norfolk coast.

Bournemouth East MP, Tobias Ellwood, has suggested an idea to encourage social distancing on Bournemouth beach in a bid to “encourage innovative ideas to adapt to the changes”.

Bournemouth Beach

According to the Bournemouth Echo, Ellwood suggests lines are drawn in the sand along the beach to encourage people visiting the beauty spot to adhere to social distancing rules.

“Tourism is the lifeblood of our town and local economy,” he says.

“The quicker we design a new normal the better it will be for our way of life.

“We have to adapt to living with this threat and that means we continue to impede the virus but allowing our lives go back to some form of normality.

“What can we do to think outside the box and adapt to this new normal? That is what I am trying to encourage.”

With potentially more people now flocking to Bournemouth beach, Ellwood says the lines in the sand would be a reminder to everybody that they have a responsibility to socially distance themselves from others.

“I have seen tractors operating, they can make marks in the sand quite easily,” he says.

“It is up to those tractor companies to come up with their own solutions. Nobody has a monopoly on ideas.”