The packed beach brigade..

[Bol87]

Why am I seeing a resurgence of the packed beach brigade whinging on social media? And still harping on about it being Cummings fault 🥴

The last packed beach horror has resulted in no spike in case whatsoever. Cases have been flat & fallen over the last couple days (although I’m expecting this to be a bit temporary & them go up a bit & flatten again). This is alongside schools opening back up, meeting friends & family outdoors etc. And that day those on Durdle Door had to pack together due to air ambulances landing.

It strikes me that it’s pretty obvious the virus does not easily spread outdoors. Even the beaches that looked rammed, everyone will be a metre apart at a minimum. You don’t sit immediately next to each other.

Can we not get over people going to the beach?! Stop calling them idiots when in fact, they are simply doing something they are allowed to do & actually, if they’ve made a risk assessment the evidence suggests it’s an OK thing to do.. I mean, rather them than me, a packed beach is my idea of hell in normal times but c’mon! 😩

[Alexandernevermind]

Ditto. It would be my idea if hell also, but so many families have been trapped in town or city centres for the last 3 months, of course they are going to head for the beach. Some of it I think is snobbery.

[ohthegoats]

I'd like them to take their rubbish home.

I went to the beach in half term, it was great - I don't think there was anyone within 15m of us at any point. We took our rubbish home.

[ohthegoats]

No swimming facilities are open anywhere, of course people will go to the beaches and rivers when it's a gazillion degrees.

[ChibiTotoro]

Most people will be fine. There is a problem with generalisations though, both positive and negative. The roads around Durdle Door were shut yesterday because there was too much traffic. A local councillor was helping direct traffic and said she was spat at, sworn at and had a family from Peterborough crying on her because she had ruined their day out by not letting them through - it's a 400 mile round trip. They have volunteers collecting litter from the beaches as people aren't taking it home with them.
This behaviour goes beyond coronavirus
and as I say most people going to the beach will probably be fine, but it sounds like there probably are quite a few idiots in the mix too.

[PopsicleHustler]

My question is where are they going to the toilet?

[ComtesseDeSpair]

Bad behaviour, leaving rubbish and packed roads are nothing to do with Coronavirus - that sounds like the small minority of antisocial people who visit beaches on any baking hot bank holiday weekend where the same problems occur.

Agree, OP: I’m in London and people have been flapping for months about the packed parks meaning certain death, and it still hasn’t happened.

[ohthegoats]

My question is where are they going to the toilet?

There were people camping overnight on Bournemouth beach too - surrounded by bags of empty beer cans. Erk... the first 3 metres of paddling sea water is going to be 90% piss this morning.

[Qasd]

Lots of beaches have opened car parks and toilets.

And I do agree we cannot end the restrictions of the lockdown and then expect people to still stay locked down! If beaches are open then you can go to them if we genuinely think it’s a covid problem we should shut them (anti social behaviour is another problem but not unique to covid)

[BogRollBOGOF]

There's been whinging and doomtastic prophesying about beaches for about 7 weeks now. It was daft in the first place and looks ridiculous now (along with all its fellow topics of Mother's Day, Easter, Bank holidays VE Day, protests and queuing outside Primark ) I'm beginning to lose count but we're now moving onto about the 10th second wave caused by the pubs opening...

People who leave litter, and damage places including singe marks from BBQs or park inconsiderately are dicks, but will tend to be dicks wherever they inflict themselves upon society. Normally it's the city centres feeling the pressure rather than beauty spots. But otherwise people will make the most of the crumbs of freedom opening up.

Organisations like councils shot themselves in the foot by not opening car parks or toilets in a timely fashion then whinging about the inevitable effects. (My council still has public toilets serving parks closed up)

When people go to a beach they spread themselves with distance between the clusters, easily 2m, and at least 1m. They don't pitch up within 50cm of the next random group.

[cologne4711]

The "packed beaches" were fake news. People deliberately using certain sorts of lenses on their cameras to make it look far worse that it was. I don't know why.

In the early days of lockdown we had people making parks look far busier than they were - I think to try to get them closed, and in some cases it worked.

People are so credulous, photos can be manipulated.

[Derbygerbil]

Beaches are not the problem... I doubt many people are sat less than 2m from other parties, let alone 1m. If you think about it, any less than 2m would be an infringement of personal space Covid or not. Also, there’s almost always some breeze by the sea, so conditions are very poor for virus transmission.

[Derbygerbil]

Public toilets are more of a risk, but even then, people are in them for 30 seconds or so and don’t tend to socialise! They’re also pretty well ventilated generally.

[daisyjgrey]

The "packed beaches" were fake news. People deliberately using certain sorts of lenses on their cameras to make it look far worse that it was. I don't know why.

In the early days of lockdown we had people making parks look far busier than they were - I think to try to get them closed, and in some cases it worked.

People are so credulous, photos can be manipulated.

I live next to one. It's not exactly quiet..dodgy camera lens or not

[flack]

We're cycling to the beach in an hour. The toilets are open. :)

[Bol87]

Well I’m glad I’m not the only one taking this view 🙈 I did a heavy eye roll at my social media feeds this morning!

The litter thing is gross, I agree. And bad traffic is shit for locals but not a corona 2nd wave spreader!

I think the real test will be opening up the indoors in July. That’s when I think we could see a rise again if not careful. The pubs do worry me in terms of alcohol & people becoming idiotic.

[MyGodImSoYoung]

I have absolutely no problem with people going to the beach; it is open for everyone! I take my puppy out between 6am and 7am to the beach (which is withing walking distance from my home), which is best so that I can avoid all the people!

BUT this morning the beach was absolutely covered in litter. I couldn't walk on the promenade as my pup likes to pick up all the litter and then refuse to drop it, so we walked on the pebbles. She still managed to pick up a wooden knife, a plastic fork and a plastic cup. We are having the same problem with a lot of the parks. Go out, use them, absolutely fine. But please clear up after yourselves!!

[APurpleSquirrel]

I'm with you! This was a popular beach in North Devon we went to in half term - hardly cheek to jowl!

[BacklashStarts]

Even on the most packed beach no Brit sits within 2 meters of a stranger! The pics on bbc are interesting - lead with a long shot but looking directly down people are spaced

[ItsWhineTime]

I don't get why people are getting angry about the beach when they are sitting apart but said nothing about the thousands packed in together at the protests. That was worse

[lubeybooby]

I don't really care as much about the potential covid factor anymore but anyone and everyone going to a beach or countryside please take your rubbish home with you. If you don't, then I hope every time you arrive at a beach, 500 seagulls immediately shit on you all at once

[okiedokieme]

@PopsicleHustler

Toilets are open at all the beaches in this council area. They cost 50p, so bring change if you go to the each!

[Redolent]

Completely agree. 97% of superspreader events happen indoors. The real test will be pub and restaurant reopenings.

[okiedokieme]

Ditto @flack. Luckily the crowds from London and the Midlands haven't discovered this one, the webcam shows a quiet beach, I'm taking my laptop, far nicer place to work!

[Theforest]

It's the rubbish that gets left behind which annoys me. Bad enough at any time, but not caring that someone else will have to pick it all up during a pandemic, really gets me.

[Barton10]

I’m on Weymouth beach and it’s not that packed. People are distancing and the toilets are open.