The hottest day of the year took thousands of Britons to the beaches in the south of the country this Thursday, June 25, raising alarm in the British government and local authorities.
The social networks were filled with images where you can see thousands of people gathered on the beaches. In Bournemouth, local authorities issued the alert and declared the event to be a “major incident”.
The health minister has already threatened that, if this behavior continues, the government may be forced to close the beaches to the public.
In an interview with TalkRadio, Matt Hancock said the government is reluctant to move forward with this drastic measure, but warned that it could move forward with the closure of the beaches. “We have this power, and if we see a sharp increase in the number of cases, we will have to act”, said the minister, warning that “the virus does not respect the hot summer days, the virus spreads with social contact” .
‘MAJOR INCIDENT’ declared in BOURNEMOUTH – pls stay away.
With 1/2 million visitors in Dorset, roads are gridlocked, hindering emergency vehicles & beaches are full – with Dispersal Orders on both piers.
I’ve asked Police Minister to dispatch additional police if Dorset requests pic.twitter.com/YnSpfdXOLc— Tobias Ellwood MP (@Tobias_Ellwood) June 25, 2020
The United Kingdom was one of the last European countries to impose containment measures to contain the covid-19 pandemic and is also being slower to remove those measures.
Restaurants and pubs can open their doors on July 4th, and social distancing rules will be relaxed from that date, but social distancing and wearing masks is still recommended.
The rules in force today require a distance of at least two meters between people, which was clearly not enforced on the beaches of Bournemouth.
Environment Minister George Eustice denied that this behavior by the British is linked to the phase of deflation that kicks off on July 4, believing before that it was a “one-off phenomenon”. Steve Barclay, a member of the British Government, was “very disappointed” with this episode and appealed to the “common sense” of the people.
The harshest words came from local authorities, with Bournemouth Mayor Vikki Slade calling the “irresponsible behavior” of so many people “shocking”.
In two days, 41 tons of garbage were removed from the beaches in the region and security forces have been forced to demobilize gatherings during the night. “We are absolutely shocked by what we saw on our beaches. We have no alternative but to declare this as a ‘big incident’ and initiate an emergency response.”
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