File
The Democratic Alliance said closing beaches to curb the spread of Covid19 “will bury the tourism, travel and accommodation sectors.”
DA MP, Manny de Freitas, said that he understands that the government, through recommendations made by the National Coronavirus Command Council, was considering the possibility of closing some beaches over the festive season.
“Considering that experience shows that any such “interventions” by the government has done nothing to curb the spread of Covid-19 but decimated the tourism industry, it is concerning that government is considering such proposals,” he said.
De Freitas said closing beaches during the festive season, the time of the year when most people flock to beaches, will bury the tourism, travel, and accommodation sectors near beaches.
“Throughout most of this year, over the last few months, the government has been the main culprit in the destruction of the tourism sector. Presently about 1 million previously employed people in the sector are now unemployed,” he said.
He said instead of closing beaches, the government should rather ensure that open-air areas, such as beaches are kept open and that protocols such as social distancing are followed.
‘Science shows that the spread of the virus is dramatically reduced in outdoor environments, such as beaches,” De Freitas said.
He said the reality was that if holidaymakers were prevented from going to the beaches, they would congregate in areas such as shopping centres instead, exactly places where large crowds should not be congregating.
