While provincial and national governments are considering the possibility of closing some of South Africa’s beaches over the festive season, a final decision has not yet been made.

Tourism Update understands, however, that the idea of closing the beaches is not off the table and that the National Coronavirus Command Council was debating this and other possible restrictions to contain the spread of COVID-19 amid a resurgence of cases.

Other potential mitigation measures currently being discussed include imposing a stricter curfew on restaurants and limiting numbers further at live events.

Speaking during a health and safety protocol webinar today, CEO of the Tourism Business Council of South Africa, Tshifiwa Tshivhengwa, noted that beaches were notably packed during the festive season, especially over Christmas and New Year, which upped the risks of close contact and thus increased exposure to COVID-19.

Professor Alex van den Heever from the School of Governance at the University of the Witwatersrand, said beaches posed a far lower risk than if the same amount of people gathered indoors.

“The key risk factor is poor ventilation and, being outdoors, that risk does not exist. However, that doesn’t mean there is no risk. Non-adherence to regulations can still spread the virus,” he said.

Tshivhengwa agreed, noting that the biggest question was if the beaches were shut down, where would the large numbers of people be relocated to? “And are the risks of relocation not higher than the initial risk of too many people in an open area?”

He added, however, that “sacrificing a few beach days” had to be weighed against the larger price of another lockdown.