[ad_1]
England’s beaches, country parks and beauty spots were busy on Wednesday, as people were allowed to drive to where they wanted to exercise for the first time since the coronavirus blockade began, and police said they could be more difficult to enforce new regulations.
Despite pleas from local authorities, public health chiefs, and even tourist chiefs for people to stay away from visitor hotspots, routes to shorelines and the countryside were congested.
While the slightly cold conditions may have prevented the beaches in South West England from getting too crowded, it was clear that many people went back to their favorite places.
The council said it received about 30 calls a day from people complaining that the owners of a second home had slipped into their caves in Cornwall. German said it would be almost impossible for the police to prevent people from coming to their vacation retreats because they could simply say they were traveling for exercise.
People also went back to the water. Padstow Harbor in North Cornwall published a “notice to sailors” that allowed kayakers, windsurfers, kite and paddleboarders, and dinghy sailors to use the estuary for “exercise”.
The RNLI said that none of its lifeguards worked on UK beaches and asked people to think carefully before entering or near water.
In the Norfolk Broads, a man was rescued after he flipped in gusty conditions. An ambulance, five fire trucks, and the coast guard were called to the scene at approximately 11 a.m. on Wednesday.
Ben Falat, president of the Norfolk and Suffolk Navigation Association, who made the 999 call after seeing the man in the water, said: “His boat was barely able to navigate. He didn’t do a risk assessment good enough to navigate at any time, much less these days. “
In North Devon, the popular surf spots of Woolacombe and Mortehoe asked people to stay away. “We do not have the ability to cope if there is an outbreak in any of the villages,” said a notice on the Mortehoe Parish website. But metal detectors, hikers, and kayakers were detected.
Wiltshire police expressed concern about the plans that appeared on social media announcing a meeting in a rural park in Swindon. A police spokesman said: “Calling a mass meeting is a blatant violation of regulations and guidance on social alienation and is totally irresponsible.”
The Blackpool tourism agency has been renamed as Do not visit Blackpool in an attempt to discourage visitors. Simon Blackburn, head of the Blackpool council, said the new government message meant that nothing could be done to stop the visitors, but urged people to stay away for now.
Tory MP Robert Goodwill said the coastal towns of Whitby and Scarborough in North Yorkshire feared a deluge of visitors. He said: “It would remind people that the toilets are closed, the parking lots closed. Whitby and Scarborough are not accepting visitors at this time. “
Celia Barnes, who lives in Skegness, Lincolnshire, said she had been protecting herself for nine weeks and had not left her home, but now tourists were allowed to visit her town. She said, “How fair is it that we are inundated with people who come to the beach who might have the virus?”
New rules came into effect on Wednesday allowing day trips to open air spaces in England, with no limit on the distance allowed. Full “stay home” blocking restrictions remain in place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Changes to certain closure rules occur when police officers are told they cannot enforce social distancing in England, while officers in Wales have been told they can. The Police College and the police chiefs issued a new guide to try to explain the more complicated rules to 125,000 officers in England and Wales.
It tells officers to apply only legal guidelines and not what they have heard from politicians. He says: “The orientation of the government is not required, for example, a distance of two meters, avoiding public transport or the use of facial covers in closed spaces.”
In Wales, he says, two-meter spacing is required, and exercise is allowed only in a “local area of where the person lives.”
It was learned that Greater Manchester Police were called to more than 1,000 house parties and large gatherings over the bank holiday weekend. Bev Hughes, Deputy Mayor for Greater Manchester, said the “subliminal message [from the government] is that you can go out as much as you want. “
Ian Hopkins said the new regulations make the police more complex. The Greater Manchester Police Chief of Police said: “We have gone from what was a relatively strong message with fairly clear legislation to something that is now more fluid.” People have more leeway in what they can and cannot do. “
Martin Hewitt, Chairman of the Council of Chiefs of the National Police, said: “The police still have a role in which people gather in groups they are not home with or have left their home for one reason. not designated as a reasonable excuse. ” .
“We will use common sense and discretion to determine what is reasonable. Officers will engage, explain, encourage, and, only as a last resort, enforce.”
Simon Fell, the Conservative MP for Barrow and Furness in Cumbria, said the Lake District could be closed if the infection rate increased. “We need to keep a close watch on the R number, and if we see it go up, activate the restrictions immediately,” he said.
In Bournemouth, where beach cabin owners were able to return for the first time, Rob Underhill, 67, was one of the first to return. “It is wonderful to be back here and be able to look at the sea,” he said.
[ad_2]
