Set beach opening times in Spain’s Costa Almeria holiday resort Roquetas de Mar as public allowed to swim and sunbathe for first time since lockdown

COLLABORATION: Everyone needs to do their bit “in order that our beaches can be enjoyed with maximum safety”, the Mayor stressed. CREDIT: Ayuntamiento de Roquetas de Mar Facebook @AytoRoquetas

BEACHES along Roquetas de Mar’s 16 kilometres of coast have reopened to the public for sunbathing and swimming this week as the whole province comes under Phase two of the lockdown de-escalation, but at set times.
Speaking after a meeting with the municipal beach management entity on Monday, Roquetas mayor Gabriel Amat revealed that the stretches of sand are open from 9am to 10pm to allow for cleaning and disinfection outside these hours throughout this second phase of the easing of restrictions.

CREDIT: Ayuntamiento de Roquetas de Mar Facebook @AytoRoquetas

Also agreed at the meeting was to step up police controls “to guarantee that users maintain the two metres of social distance, as well as the rest of the current health regulations,” the mayor said.
Amat stressed that the cleanliness of Roquetas’ beaches is ensured given that it is carried out 365 days a year, apart from several weeks of lockdown when they were completely closed, and pointed out that seafront promenades, urban furniture and rubbish bins are disinfected daily.
Cleaning and disinfection efforts are now set to be beefed up even further. While the council finalises its beach management plan for this summer season based on the most recent government regulations and guidelines, the beach management entity agreed to create a specific cleaning team for disinfecting showers, walkways and rubbish bins.
“Our aim is to help put in place all the necessary measures to guarantee the best health safety possible, and therefore we are going to have this measure of keeping the beaches without users from 10 at night to nine in the morning to allow workers to be able to do a more exhaustive cleaning and disinfection at night, in addition to what they are going to do during the day,” the mayor explained.
He also said that 160 noticeboards featuring the regulations on beach use established by the government in Spanish, English and French are being put up at beach entrances this week.
These include rules like a ban on group sports and using all inflatables, unless they are life rings for children, and recommendations like showering before going to the beach, depositing rubbish in sealed bags and not sharing items with other family members.
The council also expects by the beginning of June to have a team of 25 informing beach-goers about the rules they have to abide by.
The use of complementary beach facilities and services will be gradually activated between now and June 15 when the summer season officially gets underway, the local authority said, and will remain functioning until September 30.
These will include a team of 50 lifeguards, along with Civil Protection volunteers and the contracting of an ambulance, as well as allowing access to beach showers and toilets.
The mayor stressed that the most important thing this summer will be the collaboration of everyone “in order that our beaches can be enjoyed with maximum safety.
“If each one of us does our part we will be able to overcome this difficult situation together,” Amat affirmed.

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Written by

Cathy Elelman

Cathy Elelman is the local writer for the Costa de Almeria edition of the Euro Weekly News.

Based in Mojacar for the last 21 years, Cathy is very much part of the local community and is always well and truly up on all the latest news and events going on in this region of Spain.

Her top goals are to do the best job she can informing the local English-speaking community, visitors to the area and the wider world about about the news in Almeria, to learn something new every day, and to embrace very new challenge this fast-changing world brings her way.

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