Costa del Sol’s Malaga Says It Will Not Use Cameras to Control Beach nor Will It Mark Safety Distances in the Sand

Malaga’s Town Hall on the Costa del Sol has stated that it will not use cameras to control capacity on its beaches nor will it mark out safety distances and parameters in the sand.

THE mayor of Malaga, Francisco de la Torre, has clearly stated that once the province enters Phase 2 and beaches are reopened to the public, the council will not use cameras to monitor the capacity of its 16 kilometres of beach in the capital.

The councillor for Beaches, Teresa Porras, has detailed what actions the department has put into place in preparation for Phase 2. According to the information provided by Porras, installing cameras would have been too costly of a system – totalling to about €400,000. The mayor has also detailed that using cameras to control capacity is a grey area in terms of legality, “I don’t know to what extent this could be controlled and whether we can record people” by law he said.

Therefore, the municipality will limit itself to the use of a mobile phone application which will come into operation on June 15, this will register how many people are on the beach and what the maximum capacity of each sandy shore is. IT will also provide additional details such as how many people are approximately occupying the beaches and what flag is flown for safety purposes.

They will also offer bathers the option to gather information about what time they plan to go to the beach and to receive alerts about the status of the beach they intended to go to, without this being constituted as an obliged reservation. This will simply help officials paint a picture of demand at the beach during certain hours of the day and help control the security protocols.

Furthermore, the beaches will incorporate a number of monitors who are hired by the Junta de Andalucia. Although the exact number of these monitors in Malaga is still unknown, the capital has assured that they will have enough to cover the necessary area. These will be reinforced by Local Police officers who will also help control the situation.

Porras has appealed to citizens, reminding them of the “responsibility” they must uphold, this will be the same as “going onto the streets” and that they should not get over-excited thinking this is a free for all zone, people must ensure there is no “agglomeration and that everyone is responsible,” she added.

The councillor has also made known that there will be an able team of lifeguards on the beaches starting on Monday, who typically would not begin their season until mid-June.

Nevertheless, there will be 15 lifeguards on duty from 11.00am to 7.00pm.

Another innovative aspect of the new beach protocol is the use of ultraviolet light to disinfect the beach toilets from germs. During the next few days, there will be 28 toilets, distributed across 16 areas, including eight equipped for disabled individuals, with automatic systems so people do not have to touch flushes or other common spots. For example, these toilets will boast of automatic flushes as well as pedals for the taps to wash your hands.

Then when the user leaves the toilet, there will be a red light activated which signals that the disinfection process has begun. This entire process will take approximately 15 minutes and is ’99 per cent efficient’ at killing germs. During this interval entrance to the cubicle will not be permitted and this will be stated clearly on the posters. There will also be hydroalcoholic gel dispensers.

Finally, the council has announced that all 136 showers will be functioning. However, the informative posters will clearly state that these are to be used by one person at a time. They have also announced a more rigorous cleaning process to disinfect showers and railings.