Beaches

---

Sydney's Bondi Beach is in many popular Australian Beaches are blocked

In a surf-loving nation, Australia, some Beaches are closed, but the others remain Packed. So it is right that surfing during the Covid-19 crisis? Gary Nunn reports from Sydney.

Mark Stockdale surfs Every Day of his life. But not today.

"was, Ironically, to complete it," he tells The Bbc .

He lives near surfing hotspot Bells Beach , Victoria, in Australia, south. To stay rather than the people at home, The Opposite seems to happen.

"It was even more Packed than usual," the 48-year-old says. "The Local Surf population is quite large, but the people were also on the road away from Melbourne [110, or 70 miles], because they work. The Message will not get through. "

Mark Stockdale has noted, more and more people from the cities flock to coastal surfing spots

But this message is also "ambiguous," he says. On the one hand, surfing is not In Conflict with Australia's social distancing rules. Exercise is one of The Four main reasons to leave your house and if you use it with a maximum of Two People , 1. 5m apart, it seems, fall within The Rules .

This is rammed - up to The Beach gets.

To navigate, Mr Stockdale takes extra precautions: "I've been waiting until the conditions are not Very Good . Or I go with my son to a lower-quality surf spots, The Way of the masses. "

Katie Stoddart, 35, lives in Australia, Kingscliff, New South Wales , and has been surfing for 16 years.

she has her own rules: she only surfs alone, for 45 minutes, max, local only, avoid busy spots and gets up early to find a clear ocean.

Katie Stoddart is also the avoidance of crowded spots

"If I can't find a silent wave, for me (and happens often) that I was paddling and surfing, day - I just did the swim," she says. "I've definitely got The Best waves, or the longest surfing, but at least I get some exercise. It is better than nothing. "

Hidden risks?

A question that seems to be confusing people is the probability that the air-ocean spray risks of viral transmission.

Kim Prather, a scientist at the University of California in San Diego , told the San Diego Union-Tribune: "surfers say that they are in safety, if you stay six feet away from Other People , but that is only true if the air is Moving . Most of The Time There is wind or a breeze on the coast. Tiny drops of The Virus can float in the air and blown to get. "

Hannah Sassi, from the University of Sydney, adds: "it is only to say, it is a theoretical Possibility -that, technically, it is. "

"It is difficult, though," Dr. Sassi, an environmental virologist, The Bbc reports. "Could The Virus particles from the ocean breeze and travel? It is probably not likely, and it could happen on The Shore just as easily (if at all). "

she says, There is no consensus, The Virus can be transmitted through air-borne contact: "research and medical data will be pouring in very quickly. We learn new things about Covid-19, Every Day , and The Situation is constantly evolving. "

It can be difficult for the Surfer to maintain an effective distancing

a Close contact with a transfer, whether on the land or on the sea, is the greatest risk, she says: "Much of what we are warned against [as for coughing and sneezing] is to prevent large droplets of The Virus from deportation and colonization of surfaces. "

It is a positive for surfers and swimmers, although she says: "We are not isolated The Virus in the ocean, yet!"

Are The Beach closures add to The Problem ?

Some of Australia's Most popular and Most famous surf Beaches , including Sydney's Bondi and Manly were closed and fences built to deter surfers and swimmers.

It has not always worked. The Sydney Morning Herald reported incidents of fence jumping, including a man who attacked a photographer yelled again and again: "This is my beach. "

Ethan Smith , Surfing NSW, says The Confusion is There because, although surfing falls in The Rules , some of the Beaches are closed to find which local surfers on the Beaches , other waves.

"the Surfer, which would usually go to closed Beaches such as Bondi to go to other Beaches and to urge you. You can see that by The Sheer amount of people on the coasts of the search Somewhere Else is driving," he says.

"But I want you to stay at your local beach or stay at home. They always say - it is recovery, not the municipality. "

With many surfing events cancelled, some surfers have their board-way to be on the safe side, he adds.

Top-ocean-tips

you can See the crowded waves on the left of Mr Stockdale feeling "really disappointed".

Although he made some notes in the surf community to do their part, others let the side down. "Surfers are known to be pretty selfish," he says. "It is no surprise that There would be a Problem. I try not to wear it if you make Sacrifices - I just wish others would. "

Dr. Sassi has some tips for surfers, the during the Covid-19-outbreak: "It is advice I do not want to hear, know of a Surfer, but from sitting it is [if it is really busy], or you go in the less busy times. On the water does not automatically mean you're in danger to be unmasked.

"And in any case, you wash your hands/face as soon as you can after your surf!"

surfing, coronavirus lockdown measures, self-isolation, coronavirus pandemic, australia

Source of news: bbc.com