British crowds on beaches suggest COVID doesn’t catch the sand so well


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But is a crowded beach a COVID-19 super-spreader hotspot?

“No, SARS-CoV-2 does not spread well outdoors, especially where it is sunny and windy,” said Professor Mark Woolhouse, government science adviser and epidemiologist at the University. of Edinburgh..

“There has never been an epidemic linked to the presence of people on the beaches.”

Graham Medley, professor of infectious disease modeling at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said people who flock to the beach in large numbers “caused almost no additional transmission” compared to festival crowds, which had been linked to an increased spread of the disease. virus.

“The difference is probably the nature of the contact – the UK beach setting involves small groups and families that come and go and have little contact and much of it outdoors,” he said. he declares.

“The festival setting involves people mingling with people they don’t know, creating unusual networks of contacts.

Dr Julian Tang, professor of respiratory sciences at the University of Leicester, said the beaches are very safe, citing the natural breeze that comes from being near the sea.

“Being on the beach is safer than staying indoors – and may be safer than other crowded outdoor sites, further inland, which cannot benefit from that continuous breeze from the land. and the sea, ”he said.

Professor Woolhouse said none of this should come as a surprise. “The virus is believed to have evolved to be transmitted in caves, a completely different environment. This does not mean that people cannot be infected on the outside, but it is extremely rare in the absence of intimate physical contact. “

Dr Michael Head, senior global health researcher at the University of Southampton, was one of those who was “a little alarmed” as thousands took to his local beach.

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“I live quite close to Bournemouth beach and was a little alarmed at the time by the photos showing the number of bathers,” he said.

But the data told a different story. “As of July 2020, cases in Dorset remained low,” said local councilor Mohan Iyengar, who oversees tourism.

There were 1.3 cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 people in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole area during the week ending June 21, 2020. During the week ending July 19, that figure had slightly increased to two cases per 100,000 people.

Dr Head stated that “sitting on the beach” was “very low risk” due to the ventilation provided to the outdoors, it was not the same as the activities involved in a day at the beach .

“There will always be higher risk settings associated with ‘a day at the beach’, such as going to a cafe for a drink, sharing cars with friends or relatives or taking public transport,” he said. -he declares.

“These are enclosed spaces, poorly ventilated and associated with much higher risks of transmission.”

Police imposed more than 500 fines on 25 June 2020 on people crowding Bournemouth beach. Credit:Getty

In Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, lessons have been learned. It added 75 more seaside employees and beefed up security, traffic management and civil enforcement officers to deal with summer crowds.

Mr Iyengar has this advice for local governments tending to beaches as their populations emerge from lockdown. “We advise you to anticipate the deluge of people and the release of pent up energy when the lockdown releases,” he said.

“Lobby for money and supply all bases in huge amounts, including patrols, garbage cans, toilets and transportation.”

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