Coronavirus: Police warn people to avoid beaches or beauty spots

PSNI patrolPacemaker

The PSNI has urged people not to travel to beaches or beauty spots for their daily exercise on bank holiday Monday.

The warning comes after the police said they received reports of "large numbers of people visiting local beauty spots and parks" on Sunday.

Social distancing may not be possible "where large crowds are gathered", they said.

People are allowed to meet outdoors in groups of up to six as part of lockdown restrictions.

The PSNI confirmed they had received a number of reports over the weekend of "large numbers of people" gathering in coastal areas.

Assistant Chief Constable Alan Todd confirmed that "a number of traffic diversions" were put in place in the north coast on Sunday.

He said his officers spoke to a "number of non-residents" who had travelled to coastal towns "for a variety of reasons".

"Social distancing may not be achievable where large crowds gather," ACC Todd said.

ACC Todd issued an appeal to the public to "play their part" to help stop the spread of the virus.

In a statement, he said officers will be on patrol in "a number of popular beauty spots across Northern Ireland" on Monday.

'Growing concerns'

Cara Hunter, an SDLP MLA for East Londonderry, told Good Morning Ulster that there was a "mass increase in traffic" in Portrush over the weekend and no space on the footpaths for people to social distance.

"I had received multiple calls from people in the local area about their growing concerns," she said.

"Some of the vehicle registrations were from 80, 90 and 100 miles away."

She added that there are no public toilets, which means there is a hygiene issue too.

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